What is rare and good is always expensive.
but this one is not:
What is rare and expensive is always good.
There were 2 similar stories in the local English newspapers(one the same day):
The China Post
http://chinapost.com.tw/art/2012/01/10/328501/Panda-poo.htm
The Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2012/01/10/2003522896
They are basically the same story. An entrepreneur in China bought up a lot(11 tons) of panda poo and used it to grow tea. Tea can be an obsession in Asia but this guy plans to sell this poo grown tea for US$35,000 per 500 grams(18 oz). He is so enthusiastic about this plan that he has patented his method. (Good luck enforcing patents in China.) All things panda are crazy.
Certainly this tea will be rare and at his price, it will be expensive, but will it be
good?
Near where we live in Taipei there is a fruit juice/coffee shop. Because many tourists come to our part of town from China, Japan, Korea, ... their business is good. This is their coffee brand.
Florence and I actually bought a similar coffee last year when we went to Bali. The idea is that coffee beans eaten by a civet(a weasel looking animal) and excreted, produce the best coffee. For the novelty of it, we bought both civet eaten and noncivet coffee. We paided 5 times the regular price for the civet eaten coffee. It was expensive and rare because there aren't that many caged civets in Bali. I actually liked the noncivet coffee better, but I like instant coffee too so I'm not a gourmet.
Why they called it "weasel coffee" instead is a mystery. I'm sure ever dictionary uses the word "weasel" to describe "civet", but weasel doesn't have much of a good impression in the US, as it is usually used to describe politicians.
One the other hand, the civet is the carrier of the SARs virus which is well known in Asia. Maybe they should start feeding the coffee beans to the pandas.
Excreted coffee beans! Ugg! I understand the reasoning for what is rare being expensive and therefore good. However, I was taught in home ec class along time ago that it is best to buy food in season locally. Not only is it more plentiful and cheaper, but should be fresher and taste better. Locavores tend to follow this rule as they shop at farmers markets. I don't know if the in season/cheaper rule always applies now, though. The local organic stuff is more expensive here than the veggies that come from far away. Oh, well. Interesting story about the panda manure and weasel coffee!
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