Brazil has not yet found the goose that lays the golden eggs, but the beans obtained from the droppings of the pheasant, a species of pheasant that lives in the tropical forest, make it possible to produce one of the most expensive coffees in the world.
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The pheasant loves coffee cherries and is a gourmet: “He chooses the best fruits, the ripest ones,” explains AFP Agnael Costa, 23, who carefully collects the precious droppings between two tree trunks.
At the Camocim farm, nestled in an idyllic hilly region in the municipality of Domingos Martins in the state of Espirito Santo (southeast), coffee grows amidst a lush forest.
“Without this model of sustainable agroforestry cultivation, the production of pheasant coffee would be impossible,” explains the farm’s owner, Henrique Sloper, a fan of biodynamic farming.
A product that sells in Brazil for 1,118 reais (around 210 euros) per kg, or much more if it is exported abroad, where it is distributed by, among others, the British department store Harrods.
Photo CARL DE SOUZA / AFP
” Natural habitat “
But the pheasant, a wild bird with black plumage and a scarlet throat, was not always welcome on the Camocim farm. At first it was considered a voracious parasite that threatened crops.
When Henrique Sloper discovered in a living room the coffee “Kopi Luwak”, which in particular in Indonesia was made from the excrement of a civet cat, a small mammal between a weasel and a wild cat, he came up with the idea of making pheasant an “ally”. instead of enemy.
And while the reputation of the “kopi luwak,” which also sells at a high price, is tarnished by allegations of mistreatment of captive civets, the Brazilian pheasant is in the wild.
Photo CARL DE SOUZA / AFP
“It is completely in its natural habitat,” assures the farm’s production manager, Rogério Lemke, of the Mata Atlantica (Native Forest of the Brazilian Atlantic Coast).
“It is a protected area (…) and we do not use the slightest chemical product,” he emphasizes on the coffee plantation.
Pheasant droppings look a bit like a coarse granola bar, with the beige grains sticking out of a blackish, doughy mass.
After harvesting, it is dried in a greenhouse. The grains are then carefully sorted and peeled before being placed in a cold storage room.
Photo CARL DE SOUZA / AFP
“It requires a lot of work, that’s why we sell it so expensive. It is impossible to make pheasant coffee cheaply. It is a rare product and production is uncertain as it depends on the appetite of the pheasant,” says Henrique Sloper.
Coffee made from pheasant droppings accounts for less than 2% of his estate’s total production.
“It also helps us determine the best time for conventional picking. If he eats, it means the grains are ripe,” he continues.
Photo CARL DE SOUZA / AFP
” New experience “
“The intestinal transit of Jaco is extremely fast and only takes a few seconds,” explains Ensei Neto, a leading coffee specialist.
It is much slower for the civet cat or the elephant, whose dung is also used in Thailand to produce this type of coffee.
“So there is no special contribution in terms of taste, it is mainly a good story to tell. The only big difference is that he chooses the best beans because he is guided by his survival instinct,” he adds.
Photo CARL DE SOUZA / AFP
And since the beans are very ripe, the result is “a coffee with sweet notes, with good acidity”.
“This coffee is delicious and the story behind its production is very original. It’s a new experience for us,” says Poliana Cristiana Prego, a 37-year-old Brazilian tourist who came to the farm to try Jaco coffee.
“Our customers are lovers of exotic products, but also people for whom the idea of sustainable development is important,” notes Henrique Sloper.
For him, “the future of coffee lies in Brazil.” The world’s leading producer, the South American giant, “is starting to sell its image better to show that it is able to make coffee like nowhere else.”