Kopi luwak

Kopi luwak, also known as civet coffee, is a coffee

that consists of partially digested coffee cherries,

which have been eaten and defecated by the Asian

palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The

cherries are fermented as they pass through a civet's

intestines, and after being defecated with other fecal

matter, they are collected.[1] Asian palm civets are

increasingly caught in the wild and traded for this

purpose.[2]

Kopi luwak is produced mainly on the Indonesian

islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, and in East

Timor. It is also widely gathered in the forest or

produced in farms in the islands of the Philippines,

[3]

where the product is called kape motit in the Cordillera

region, kapé alamíd in Tagalog areas, kapé melô or

kapé musang in Mindanao, and kahawa kubing in the

Sulu Archipelago.

Kopi luwak is also produced in Palawan's Langogan

Valley. The beans from droppings of the Asian palm civet and

Palawan binturong (Arctictis binturong whitei) are collected from

the forest floor and cleaned.[4][5]

Producers of the coffee beans argue that the process may improve

coffee through two mechanisms: selection, where civets choose to

eat only certain cherries; and digestion, where biological or

chemical mechanisms in the animals' digestive tracts alter the

composition of the coffee cherries.

The traditional method of collecting feces from wild Asian palm

civets has given way to an intensive farming method, in which the

palm civets are kept in battery cages and are force-fed the cherries. This method of production has raised

ethical concerns about the treatment of civets and the conditions they are made to live in, which include

isolation, poor diet, small cages, and a high mortality rate.[6][7][8]

Although kopi luwak is a form of processing rather than a variety of coffee, it has been called one of the

most expensive coffees in the world, with retail prices reaching US$100 per kilogram for farmed beans

and US$1,300 per kilogram for wild-collected beans.[9] Another epithet given to it is that it is the "Holy

Grail of coffees."[10]

An Asian palm civet

Defecated luwak coffee

berries in East Java

The origin of kopi luwak is closely connected to the history of coffee production in Indonesia; Dutch

colonialists established coffee plantations in Indonesia and imported beans from Yemen. In the 19th

century, farmers in central Java started to brew and drink coffee from excreted beans collected at their

plantations.[11]

Kopi luwak is brewed from coffee beans that traversed the

gastrointestinal tract of an Asian palm civet, and were thus

subjected to a combination of acidic, enzymatic, and fermentation

treatment. During digestion, digestive enzymes and gastric juices

permeate through the endocarp of coffee cherries and break down

storage proteins, yielding shorter peptides. This alters the

composition of amino acids and impacts the aroma of the coffee.

In the roasting process, the proteins undergo a non-enzymatic

Maillard reaction.

[12] The palm civet is thought to select the most

ripe and flawless coffee cherries. This selection influences the

flavour of the coffee, as does the digestive process. The beans begin to

germinate by malting, which reduces their bitterness.[13] When performed

in nature, or in the wild, these two mechanisms achieve the same goal as

selective picking and the wet or washed process of coffee milling: 1)

harvesting optimally ripe cherries and 2) mechanically and chemically

removing the pulp and skin from the cherry, leaving mainly the seed.[14]

Traditionally, excreted coffee beans were collected directly in plantations

and forests. As the international demand for kopi luwak increased, some

producers turned to caged production methods to increase yields. In 2014,

the annual kopi luwak production was grossly estimated at less than

127 kg (280 lb). It is produced in Indonesia, East Timor, the Philippines,

Thailand, Vietnam and Ethiopia.

[15]

The taste of kopi luwak varies with the type and origin of excreted beans, processing, roasting, aging, and

brewing. The ability of the civet to select its berries, and other aspects of the civet's diet and health, like

stress levels, may also influence the processing and hence taste.[16]

Within the coffee industry, kopi luwak is widely regarded as a gimmick or novelty item. The Specialty

Coffee Association of America (SCAA) states that there is a "general consensus within the industry...it

just tastes bad". A coffee professional compared the same beans with and without the kopi luwak process

using a rigorous coffee cupping evaluation. He concluded: "it was apparent that luwak coffee sold for the

story, not superior quality...Using the SCAA cupping scale, the luwak scored two points below the lowest

History

Production

Taste

A cup of kopi luwak from Gayo,

Takengon, Aceh

Asian palm civet in a cage

of the other three coffees. It would appear that the luwak

processing diminishes good acidity and flavor and adds

smoothness to the body, which is what many people seem to note

as a positive to the coffee.”[17] Professional coffee tasters were

able to distinguish kopi luwak from other coffee samples, but

remarked that it tasted "thin".[18] Some critics claim more

generally that kopi luwak is simply bad coffee, purchased for

novelty rather than taste.[17][19][20] A food writer reviewed kopi

luwak available to American consumers and concluded "It tasted

just like...Folgers. Stale. Lifeless. Petrified dinosaur droppings

steeped in bathtub water. I couldn't finish it."[21]

Several commercial processes attempt to replicate the digestive process of the civets without animal

involvement. Researchers with the University of Florida have been issued with a patent for one such

process.[22][23] Brooklyn-based food startup Afineur has also developed a patented fermentation

technology that reproduces some of the taste aspects of Kopi Luwak while improving coffee bean taste

and nutritional profile.[24][25][26]

Vietnamese companies sell an imitation kopi luwak, made using an enzyme soak which they claim

replicates the civet's digestive process.[27]

Imitation has several motivations. The high price of kopi luwak drives the search for a way to produce

kopi luwak in large quantities. Kopi luwak production involves a great deal of labour, whether farmed or

wild-gathered. The small production quantity and the labor involved in production contribute to the

coffee's high cost.[28]

 Imitation may be a response to the decrease in the civet population.[29]

Growing numbers of intensive civet "farms" have been established

and are operated in Southeast Asia, confining tens of thousands of

animals to live in battery cages and be force-fed.[30][31][32] "The

conditions are awful, much like battery chickens", said Chris

Shepherd, deputy regional director of TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia.

"The civets are taken from the wild and have to endure horrific

conditions. They fight to stay together but they are separated and

have to bear a very poor diet in very small cages. There is a high

mortality rate and for some species of civet, there's a real

conservation risk. It is spiraling out of control".[6] The trade in

palm civets for the production of kopi luwak may constitute a

significant threat to wild populations.[2]

Imitation

Animal welfare

A window display in an

upscale coffee shop

showing kopi luwak in forms

of defecated clumps

(bottom), unroasted beans

(left) and roasted beans

(right)

In 2013, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) investigators found wild-caught civets on

farms in Indonesia and the Philippines. They were deprived of exercise, proper diet, and space. Video

footage from the investigation shows abnormal behaviours such as repeated pacing, circling, or biting the

bars of their cages. The animals often lose their fur.

[33] A BBC investigation revealed similar conditions.

Farmers using caged palm civets in north Sumatra confirmed that they supplied kopi luwak beans to

exporters whose produce ends up in Europe and Asia.[8] Tony Wild, the coffee executive responsible for

bringing kopi luwak to the Western world, has stated he no longer supports using kopi luwak due to

animal cruelty and launched a campaign called "Cut the Crap" to halt the use of kopi luwak.[34]

Kopi luwak is one of the most expensive coffees in the world, selling for

between $220 and $1,100 per kilogram ($100 and $500/lb) in 2010. The

price paid to collectors in the Philippines is closer to US$20 per

kilogram.[16] The specialty Vietnamese weasel coffee, which is made by

collecting coffee beans eaten by wild civets, is sold at US$500 per

kilogram.[35] Most customers are Asian, especially those originating from

Japan, China, and South Korea.[36]

Some specialty coffee shops sell cups of brewed kopi luwak for US$35–

80.[37][38][39]

Investigations by PETA and the BBC found fraud to be rife in the kopi

luwak industry, with producers willing to label coffee from caged civets

with a "wild sourced" or similar label.[33][8]

Genuine kopi luwak from wild civets is difficult to purchase in Indonesia

and proving it is not fake is very difficult – there is little enforcement

regarding use of the name "kopi luwak", and there's even a local cheap coffee brand named "Luwak",

which costs under US$3 per kilogram but is occasionally sold online under the guise of real kopi luwak.

Coffee beans can be "seeded" with the same microbes as in civet gut to produce the same coffee flavor

without having to deal with civet excrement.[10]

The binturong is also sometimes kept captive for production of kopi luwak.[40][41]

There are reports of a kopi luwak type process occurring naturally with muntjac and birds. Bat coffee is

another variation that is in demand. Bats feed on the ripest coffee and fruits and spit out the seeds. These

seeds are dried and processed to make coffee with a slight fruity flavor.

[42][43]

Price and availability

Authenticity and fraud

Variations

In the movie The Bucket List, billionaire health care magnate Edward Cole (played by Jack Nicholson)

brings kopi luwak with him on all of his travels, but is unaware of how the drink is produced.[44] Carter

Chambers (Morgan Freeman) explains how civets defecate kopi luwak coffee beans, and that the gastric

juices of the defecated beans give kopi luwak its unique aroma.

The Japanese manga series Beastars features an anthropomorphic civet character named Deshico that

produces kopi luwak