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TABUK, Kalinga– Our Coffee farmers here aired a public plea to stop the hunting of wild cat (musang) or civet cat, lest the province’s booming civet coffee industry will go down the drain considering the vital role of the endangered animal in perking up coffee production which is fast becoming a lucrative industry.
Our farmers in Magallaya Mountain claim the civet cat, which is commonly dominating their forests. is now getting endangered due to hunting of unscrupulous individuals who are not aware of the importance of the endangered specie in protecting growing coffee plants from attack of pests.
Magallaya villagers depend largely on gathered civet coffee beans from the excrements of wild palm civet cats they process in the production of civet coffee or musang coffee which is largely in demand in the world market and commands a very high price considering its aroma and lasting taste which is attractive to coffee lovers worldwide.
Civet or musang coffee is the province’s top premium coffee blend, now acclaimed in the country and abroad.
Acclaimed as best premium coffee, civet coffee bears a musky scent that is not present in other Kalinga coffee blends.
The civet cat, known to produce that same musk scent at its tail end, preys on selected ripened coffee beans and through its extra-smell sensory can detect selected beans even at night, thus, the said brand of coffee is preferred by coffee lovers in the different parts of the global village which know the best coffee brands that must be patronised.
Kalinga coffee, which is naturally grown and free from chemical inputs, come in three varieties – Robusta, Excelsa and Arabica, thus, it easily passing the organic tests conducted by internationally recognised organic certification organisations.
The normal process of collecting the civet droppings is actually earth-friendly, especially for the civets. They do not have to be captured and caged and that there would be no need to cut down trees to make way for more coffee farms and a civet farm.
“We realised it’s better to just go with nature in this business.