Kopi Luwak Coffee

Kopi Luwak Coffee or Civet Coffee is a high quality coffee from Asia.
It is produced in Indonesia, the Philippines and in Vietnam.

In the Philippines it's called “Civet Coffee”, the translation of the Vietnamese name (cà phê Chon) is “Weasel Coffee”, and in Indonesia it’s called “Kopi Luwak Coffee”.

“Kopi” means "Coffee" and "Luwak" means “Asian Palm Civet” in the Indonesian language.

Even if it has different names in these countries, it’s the same type of coffee and the process takes place in the same way.

People, who have tried this kind of coffee often describe the aroma as smooth, chocolaty, a bit nutty, and very rich. Its aftertaste is not bitter, which makes it perfectly consumable without any unhealthy additional ingredients like sugar or milk. This makes coffee lovers all over the world are amazed by the quality of these coffee beans.

How is Civet Coffee Produced

This specialty coffee was discovered in the colonial times in Indonesia, when the farmers weren't allowed to harvest the coffee from their own coffee plants. As they weren’t allowed to collect the beans in the normal way, they started to collect the beans from the droppings of the Luwaks. They really enjoyed the taste of the coffee and started to consume it on a regular basis.

Civet Cat enjoying Luwak Coffee beans
An Indonesian Civet cat choosing the best coffee beans to eat. Image: Wikimedia: CC3 licence

The Asian Palm Civets eat the raw coffee beans. In the stomachs of these animals, there are specialized enzymes, that help to remove the bitterness of coffee beans. Once the coffee beans have passed through the civet cats digestive system, the coffee gets washed, disinfected and roasted.

Most of the bacteria is removed during the washing and disinfection process -, and the bacteria which is not removed at that point is removed through the roasting process. This makes it safe to consume Kopi Luwak Coffee, and no harm will occur to anybody who drinks this type of coffee.

Two major factors are important for the high quality of the coffee and its unique taste:
Firstly, the animals only eat the best, ripest coffee beans - therefore the raw coffee beans' quality is much higher than the quality used for normal roasting, for which every coffee bean of the plants is used.
Secondly, is that enzymes in the Asian Palm Civets break down the outer layer of the beans and remove the bitterness of the beans themselves. That is why the coffee tastes really smooth.

Recently, many fake Kopi Luwak Coffee varieties have come on the market so it is important for people to ask themselves whether they have real Kopi Luwak Coffee.

At first it was only possible to find out if it wass real or not by visiting the farm and inspecting it for yourself, but lately a new method has been developed to prove whether the coffee is authentic or not. (See http://kopiluwakdirect.com/identify-real-kopi-luwak-coffee/ for details of this method).

Because of the unique processing, Kopi Luwak Coffee is very expensive, and this type of specialty coffee is definitely not for people on a tight budget, but for gourmets with a bit of spare cash it is a well-known and highly recommended delicacy.

It is possible to buy Kopi Luwak Coffee online from trusted stores, many of which offer worldwide free shipping, a good example of one of these websites can be found at http://kopiluwakdirect.com.