Herveys Range Heritage Tea Rooms facts for kids
The Herveys Range Heritage Tea Rooms are a special cafe located at the top of the Hervey Range. This spot is about 32 kilometers (20 miles) north-west of Townsville in North Queensland, Australia. These tea rooms are famous for something very unique: they are the only cafe in Queensland that serves kopi luwak coffee. This coffee is known as one of the most expensive coffees in the world!
What is Kopi Luwak?
Kopi luwak is a type of coffee that comes from Indonesia. It's made in a very unusual way! The coffee beans first pass through the digestive system of a small animal called the Asian palm civet. This animal is known as a "luwak" in Indonesia.
After the civets eat the coffee cherries, the beans are collected from the jungle floor. They are then cleaned, dried, and roasted. This special process makes the coffee very unique. Because it's so rare and special, kopi luwak can cost a lot. It can be sold for up to A$1,250 per kilogram!
A Historic Building
The Heritage Tea Rooms are located inside a very old building. It's actually the oldest building in North Queensland! It was built around 1865 using split logs. This means the walls were made from logs split in half.
This building was once known as the Eureka Hotel. It has been carefully restored to look like it did a long time ago. It's one of the few old "slab-sided inns" left in the country. Back in the 1860s, this inn was a welcome stop for early travelers. They would rest here after climbing the range through a place called Thorntons Gap.
Fun Things to Do
Besides trying the famous kopi luwak, there are other fun things to do at the Heritage Tea Rooms.
- Birdwatching: If you love birds, this is a great place! There are more than 150 different kinds of birds living nearby. You might spot many unique species.
- Scenic Drive: The tea rooms are very close to the Herveys Range scenic drive. This road offers beautiful views and leads directly to places like Charters Towers and the Atherton Tablelands. It's perfect for a day trip!
On TV!
The Herveys Range Heritage Tea Rooms and their special coffee have even been on television! On July 1, 2007, an Australian TV show called Border Security: Australia's Front Line showed a story about kopi luwak. The show featured how this rare coffee was brought into Australia. Customs officials had to decide if it was safe to let the coffee into the country. After thinking about it, they decided it would not harm Australian farming. Many people learned about kopi luwak for the first time from this TV show.
The very next day, on July 2, the Channel Seven breakfast show Sunrise broadcast their weather report from the Heritage Tea Rooms. The weather presenter, Monique Wright, even confirmed that the tea rooms were connected to the Border Security story about the kopi luwak coffee.
