E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSAccording to Wikipedia, Kopi luwak, or civet coffee, is coffee made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract.
A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then defecated, keeping their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness, widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world.
Kopi luwak is produced mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago, and also in the Philippines (where the product is called motit coffee in the Cordillera and kape alamid in Tagalog areas) and also in East Timor (where it is called kafé-laku). Weasel coffee is a loose English translation of its name in Vietnam, where popular, chemically simulated versions are also produced.
Have you tried this coffee before? Is it worth paying top dollar?
Paula Bronstein / Getty Images
A four month old Luwak is tempted by some red coffee beans at the BAS Coffee plantation on Jan. 20, 2011, in Tapaksiring, Bali, Indonesia. The Luwak is an Asian palm civet, which looks like a cross between a cat and a ferret.
Paula Bronstein / Getty Images
A Luwak snacks on coffee berries inside its cage on Jan. 16 in Bali, Indonesia. The civet climbs coffee trees to find the best berries, eats them, and eventually the coffee beans come out in its stools as a complete bean.
Paula Bronstein / Getty Images
Wayan Dira collects the Luwak stool under their cage on Jan. 20 in Pupuan village, Bali, Indonesia. The stool is collected once a day for processing. Sari and her husband Wayan Dira have had a small coffee business for the last two years in the coffee region of western Bali. They own nine Luwaks and are now producing the expensive coffee hoping to cash in on the desire for the rare beans. Luwak coffee is produced mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago, and also in the Philippines.
Paula Bronstein / Getty Images
Sari grinds Luwak beans in an old rusted grinder Jan. 20 in Pupuan village, Bali, Indonesia. The Luwak coffee is known as the most expensive coffee in the world because of the way the beans are processed and the limited supply. Luwak coffee is produced mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago, and also in the Philippines.
Leave a Comment:
I once heard that S.A.R.S. the respiratory disease reportedly crossed over from civets to humans. Could all this close contact between humans and civet poop have enabled this to happen?
You've got to be @!$%#ting me!!! LOL
Pardon me while I throw up....The production room is filthy too, must be infultrated with RATS. Are we sure our coffee from other growers is clean?
For good taste, coffee cupping is the most rational way to assess coffee. Good assessed coffee may get better when passed through civet digestion? Coffee cuppings often reveal civet coffees are not always superior. Good tasted coffees likely depend on cultivation. Civets put in cages likely get stressed? It does happen that farmers mixed coffee cherries with mashed bananas that the civets eat the cherries. Then the taste of the original coffee beans is first of all referred than just believing in a claim that civet coffee certainly has better taste. Moreover, why should civet coffee costs more? Don't farmers do less labor by not picking coffee cherries from the trees?
Hello. I was treated by a good friend to civet coffee. It was awful. Coffee can have a sour side and this had it in spades, without having a compensating richness of taste or complexity of aroma to compensate. I have had Australian wine that was delightfully earthy: this was more reminiscent of pee on sand. Note that she didn't tell me what it was before I tasted it! And poor civets - look at those living conditions.
Interesting, but there is not very much information here on civet cat coffee or "kopi luwak". For those who want to find out more, may I suggest our humble website, which has detailed information on kopi luwak in the Philippines, Indonesia and India. For more information, visit:
I was unable to suggest the site. So, I will mention the name of our website, which is 'Sea Island Coffee'.
www. Harvests of the World . com is where you can find the best brands of coffee from around the world we also have flavored teas, chocolate, giftbaskets, recipes, coffee tips, history and more.
KOPI LUWAK COFFEE at Harvests of the World we have the cheapest price in the internet for this RARE EXOTIC COFFEE check our site
Where you can find the cheapest price of KOPI LUWAK COFFEE in the internet we ship anywhere in the world. Variety of sizes available
Further to my previous post, Sea Island Coffee is found at www seaislandcoffee com which has a great range of Kopi Luwak civet cat coffees.