Durian coffee?

The durian is a notorious fruit.

Widely recognised in its native Southeast Asia as being the “King of Fruits”, the famed nineteenth century British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace once described the flesh beneath the husk as being like rich custard, highly flavoured with almonds.” However to get to its innards, people must navigate its thorn-covered shell and a repugnant odour that has been described as being sewage-like.

So divisive is the fruit, it is banned from being carried onto certain public transport systems and many hotels have turned away guests if they have a durian in tow.

But despite it having a repelling smell when raw, when mixed with coffee it gives off an enticing aroma that has been wowing people at the 21^st Century Maritime Silk Road International Expo in Guangdong, China.

A Malaysian company, Nature Goodness Food Industry, has seemingly channelled the durian’s sweet flavour and mixed it with the best thing in town: Coffee.

“The Chinese consumers find the coffee…very unique,” said Fred Lim.

Unique is certainly an adjective that we would use when discussing the fruit, but it appears that those in attendance were wowed by the mixture of flavours and it soon became the talking point of the trade-focused event.

As far as we are aware, this is the first time that durian-infused coffee has become a hit outside of the fruit’s traditional home.

That being said, a less powerful variety of durian flavoured coffee is a popular drink of choice in some cafes in The Philippines and there is also instant version available in the region which is sold under the Mycafe range.

But what we would like to know is whether you’d be willing to try some durian coffee?

photo: Mohd Hafizuddin Husin (Flickr, Creative Commons)