Herveys Range Heritage Tea Rooms

The Herveys Range Heritage Tea Rooms are an historical cafe and a self-contained holiday cabin located at the top of Herveys Range, approximately 45 km north-west of Townsville or 32 km north-west of Thuringowa Central, in North Queensland, Australia. They are owned by Allan and Michelle Sharpe.The tea rooms are famous for being the only cafe in Queensland to include Kopi Luwak coffee on their menu, hailed as the most expensive coffee in the world. [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/the-50-cup-of-coffee/2007/04/12/1175971226511.html Australia's Most Expensive Cup Of Coffee?] , 12 April 2007.]

Kopi Luwak

Kopi Luwak is an Indonesian coffee made from beans that have passed through the digestive system of the Asian Palm Civet "(Paradoxurus hermaphroditus)", known in Indonedia as the luwak. Collected from the floor of the jungle, the defecated beans are dried and roasted, and then exported for a price of up to AU$1,250 per kilogram.

North Queensland's oldest building

The Heritage Tea Rooms are situated inside North Queensland's oldest building - a split log construction built circa 1865. Formely known as the Eureka Hotel, the building has been restored to its former glory and remains standing as one of the countries few slab sided inn's.In the 1860s the inn provided a welcome respite for early travellers ascending the range via Thorntons gap

Other attractions

Aside from Kopi Luwak, the Heritage Tea Rooms provide a variery of attractions including:
* Mountain Way Tunnel Tours [ [http://www.about-australia.com/travel-guides/queensland/townsville/tours-cruises/half-day/mountain-way-tunnel-tours/ Mountain Way Tunnel Tours] ] , passing through a series of tunnels originally constructed in 1974 [ [http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/ongoing_investment/ongoing_investment.asp QR Corporate - Modern Competitive Railway] ] for the Townsville to Greenvale railway line.
* Birdwatching - with over 150 varieties of birds in the local vicinity.
* Close proximity to the Herveys Range scenic drive, with direct road access to Charters Towers and the Atherton Tablelands

In the media

On July 1 2007, the Australian Channel Seven show ran a story on Kopi Luwak being imported into Australia. Customs officials decided after much deliberation that the rare coffee would pose no threat to the Australian agricultural industry, and approved the importation. For many viewers, this was the first they had ever heard of Kopi Luwak. [ [http://www.thedaily.com.au/blogs/couch-potato/2007/jul/10/border-security/ Who Loves Border Security?] , 10 July 2007.]

The next day on July 2nd, the Channel Seven breakfast chat show Sunrise based their morning weather presentations from the Heritage Tea Rooms. [ [http://www.townsvilleonline.com.au/__data/assets/file/0004/8599/MEDIA_RELEASE_-_Sunrise.pdf Media Release - Sunrise] , 29 June 2007.] Weather presenter Monique Wright confirmed during this episode of Sunrise that the Heritage Tea Room was in fact linked to the Border Security story on the importation of the Kopi Luwak.

References

External links

* [http://www.heritagetearooms.com.au/ Heritage Tea Rooms]
* [http://www.djolsen.com.au/ 4WD Tag-ALong Tours via Heritage Tea Rooms]