I stayed at a well-known rest stop for travellers in Bukittinggi, Hotel Hello Guesthouse, but it didn’t have air conditioning. Luckily, it’s over 1,000m and was a bit more bearable. Plus the heavy storms every night kept the temperature down. The next day was a write-off and my body just needed to recover but I felt a cold coming and knew it might take longer than expected. However, the next day I felt better and decided to chance a visit to a coffee place I had heard of.
‘Poo’ coffee to the rescue?
It was only a 10km day trip from my accommodation but a chance to see how I was doing. Despite feeling like this would be an easy ride, my lungs still felt ill. However, I was here and met Umul, who runs Rafflesia Luwak Coffee in a little village known for the Rafflesia Arnoldi flower. Umul was great, explaining the process of the Civets who eat the beans and then part digest and ferment them in their body. To collect the poo, the civets will only poo on a clean surface. The poo is then cleaned, roasted and ground to make the coffee.