Civet Coffee Shop in Manila: Best Coffee Alamid from a Cat at Frazzled Cook

Are you ready for that morning kick When In Manila? Jack Nicholson had this in his Bucketlist. Let’s take a closer look and see why it could be part of yours.

So it’s a cup of coffee. But not any ordinary coffee – its one of the rarest, tastiest & most expensive coffee in the world. What makes it so special is because it came from the poop of the civet cat.

Poop?! But is it coffee? Yes it is! But how?

I’d like to take you on this gourmet coffee experience, but first sit back & relax…

In a gem of a place called the Frazzled Cook where the ambiance can really prep you up & soothe you

…before you taste that glamorous cup of gourmet.

How the coffee bean started though isn’t quite that glamorous. The civet cat (Paradoxus Philippinensis) eats coffee berries for the pulp, it passes through its digestive tract where enzymes seep into the beens and is then defacated keeping their shape. The poop is gathered on the forest floors, thoroughly washed, sun dried & lightly roasted before brewing.

What makes this even more special is that the civet cat is an endemic animal in the Philippines – called Alamid in Tagalog – which also makes it a national pride. Coffee Alamid is a blend of the Philippines’s finest Arabica, Liberica and Exelsia beans. Here’s Rachel & Paolo of Coffee Alamid explaining their product to guests.

Ernie of Coffee Alamid explains how it is prepared.

A great way is to use the French press.

Pour in the ground coffee, hot water, press down &let sit for a minute for the oils & aroma to blend well, and then let sit for another few minutes…

… before pouring into a perfect cup of Alamid Coffee.

Maxine Magallona was there to take the first sip. Which also meant a lot to her because her father, the late Francis Magallona, also loved it a lot.

Other things I learned about Alamid Coffee :

-The droppings are gathered from wild Civet cats not from caged ones like some practice – this doesn’t disturb their ecosystem. It makes a happy cat – and a happy cat, gives happy beans.

-The civet cat is not a really a cat but comes from the mongoose family

– For every Alamid Coffee you buy, you help in putting a a child to school

– If you put creamer & sugar, it will taste like chocolate!

They specifically partnered with Frazzled Cook because of the very homey & relaxed ambiance. Perfect for sharing that special cup with.

Here’s some great tasting food they also serve :

Mini squid & cheese croquettes with aioli dip

Wagyu salpicao bites

Pizza caprese

and a top choice to go with that awesome cup : crepe cake! 20 layers of crepe all on top of each other with cream filling in between. Heavenly! I’m getting hungry again just writing about this.