It took a long time for me to organize this fun event.

It was so long ago I can’t remember how it all began actually and how the discussions first began that led to us having two very exotic coffee. But we were glad that PinoyGourmet and Carol who went out of their way and gave us their precious coffee when I expressed my curiosity over the cat-poop coffee.

So I decided to make a fun event and invite Friends of Chowtimes to come and get to know one another over a few cups of coffee.

The turnout was pretty good and we get to know some of our readers. I think we had 10 people in all.

One of the problem in organizing this is to find a coffee house who is willing to host the event. I wanted a place where we could meet and chat for as long as we wanted. I also wanted someone who is willing to brew the coffee beans for us. He he he … I also wanted someone who will not charge me an arm and a leg too.

Well, Vivo! Gelato stepped forward and not only allowed us the use of their premises but they were extremely supportive of the event.

One thing I meant to ask the folks from Vivo! Gelato is why they call themselves “Vivo!” and not “Vivo”. Why that exclamation mark? I mean, how should one say the name? Like VIVO!!! gelato?

PinoyGourmet was the one who donated the cat-poop coffee. It is called Kopi Luwak or Coffee Alamid.

Did you know that Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world? It could cost up to $5oo per pound! It is quite accurate to call this cat-poop coffee.

Kopi Luwak is made by passing a certain type of coffee beans through the digestive tract of the civet cat.

If you want to try Kopi Luwak here in Vancouver, you can get it from the Spice Island Indonesian Restaurant. He he he … it is $60 per cup and I am not kidding you. See their menu here. (updated: 2nd Nov 2014; Spice Island Indonesian Restaurant is closed.)

In this event the Kopi Luwak is free!

Carol gave us her precious Blue Mountain coffee when she heard that we had the Kopi Luwak and that we wanted to organize a tasting event. I am just so glad for supporters like Carol (thanks a lot Carol!).

The Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is one of the most expensive coffee in the world and is very popular in Japan. It is grown only in the Blue Mountain region in Jamaica. Japan imports 80% of all the Blue Mountain coffee in the world. So the Blue Mountain coffee above is part of the 20% the rest of the world is left with. Nice!

And holding the fort against the cat-poop coffee and the Blue Mountain coffee is the very brand of coffee that Vivo! Gelato offers in store.

The Illy coffee is from Italy. It is distinctive in the way they package the coffee. Illy preserve their coffee in cans which are filled with inert gases instead of air pressurization.

Oh yeah … the comparison is on …

We pretty much made up the whole game as we go. After all, we were there more for the fun of it and the experience than anything.

In order to be able to compare apple-to-apple, Vivo! Gelato brewed the coffee the same way. They served the coffee in numbered cups and we are to guess which is which and to describe what we think of each.

It was pretty fun trying it and hearing how each described the coffee.

When Vivo! Gelato revealed the answer, only ONE of us got it all correct. It was Macy. I knew it the moment I saw the way she was going about tasting her coffee. She knows coffee.

Guess what I chose for the coffee that I thought tasted best. It was not the cat-poop coffee. It was not the Blue Mountain. It was Illy. I guess I just prefer the more familiar taste of regular coffee.

Anyway, thanks everyone who took time off on Saturday to come for the event. I had a great time.

We had some complimentary gelato from Vivo! They are excellent.

We all had a lot of fun and stayed to chat for sometime.

Oh one of the wild ideas that PinoyGourmet, Frank and Karen was talking about in their corner was to organize an “Extreme BBQ” this summer. Between them, they had a great private location, sourced really exotic meats and an expert in BBQ. You know, exotic meat like kangaroo, rabbit, ostrich and stuff like that.

I don’t know man. I am already up to my neck in organizing this and that, so much so that I am not sure if I can pull this off. I mean, I don’t mind using chowtimes to pull together people who are interested to attend but I seriously need others to help in organizing.

We can do something like 10Am to 4PM event on a weekend. Attendees pay a fee to share expenses for the meat and stuff. Attendees also bring a pot luck item to share. People come and just spend a few hours getting to know foodies and talk all day long about nothing but food.

Does it sound like fun to you? Would you be interested in attending an “Extreme BBQ” event?