|
Weasel coffee: Where to go?
Mr. Khanh’s weasel farm has nearly one tonne of weasel coffee in stock. The firm’s only client who bought this unique product at VND1-10 million ($58-580) per kilo said they would stop buying this product for an indefinite period.
Farmers confused
Despite the ban, some people have bred wild weasels for a long time as pets or to sell to restaurants. However, there are farmers in the Central Highlands that have raised weasels to produce weasel coffee, a famous specialty of this region.
One of the largest weasel coffee farms is the one of brothers Nguyen Quoc Khanh and Nguyen Giang Nam in Krong Pak district, Dak Lak province. This special farm became known when Khanh and Nam advertised their weasel coffee online, priced at $110 per kilo. Khanh directly introduced this special product at the 2nd Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival in late 2008.
At the festival, over ten customers bought this coffee, stirring big hopes for Khanh. At that time, he had over 500kg of weasel coffee for sale. The volume is double at present but Khanh can’t find a stable outlet.
He said it is not too difficult to produce weasel coffee but this job is costly and laborious. Weasels like fighting so each weasel lives in its own cage. They are released into the same cage when they are in season. A female weasel can give birth twice, with several babies at once.
During the ripening coffee season, Khanh releases weasels into his coffee garden. He also buys more ripe coffee from other garden as food for weasels. Weasels choose the best coffee fruit to eat and then pass the coffee beans, resulting in weasel coffee. This kind of coffee has a very special flavour.
Khanh says that if he sells one kilo of coffee for $110, he earns VND200,000/kg profit. But in this situation, Khanh may have to sell his 50 rodents to restaurants.
Businesses are careful
The Trung Nguyen Coffee Company, the only company advertised on TV as buying weasel coffee and which bought weasel coffee from Khanh and other farmers has stopped buying this kind of coffee.
This company introduced processed weasel coffee at the 2nd Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival, a 250g can priced $750 and a 1kg can cost $3,000, as special gifts for chiefs of state.
About the problem of farmers in seeking outlets for weasel coffee beans, Trung Nguyen said it has never signed any contract with any farmer. After announcing it needed weasel coffee beans, Trung Nguyen received offers from some farms and farmers. It sent technicians to check and bought quality products.
Trung Nguyen still produces processed weasel coffee in a limited volume to serve VIPs and it refuses orders for less than 1kg of coffee. The firm doesn’t plan to reduce the price for this unique product.
Trung Nguyen is researching methods to raise weasels which can discharge better coffee beans and to build weasel farms up to international standards and suitable to Vietnamese law and international conventions. This year it will start breeding weasels in coffee gardens.
VietNamNet, TP
|
