Civet Coffee

You’ve probably heard about it from the movie Bucket List, then again, maybe you’ve had it way before Jack Nicholson’s character surprised the majority of the coffee-drinking world about the origins of civet coffee. Popularly known by its exotic sounding Indonesian name, kopi luwak, civet coffee can actually be found in three places in Southeast Asia: Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. While most coffees carry the name of the species or the region they are grown from or both (for example Kona, Costa Rican Terrazu, Lintong Arabica, Sulawesi Toraja Peaberry, Kona, and many others), with four coffee species grown commercially, and hundreds of different coffee growing regions. Kopi luwak or civet coffee, however, is a process, not a species nor name of a location. It refers to coffee that has been consumed by a Palm Civet, a shy and peaceful mongoose that is found primarily in Indonesia and the Philippines. These Palm Civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) belong to the civet family and are not actually cats, foxes, or weasels. A coffee bean consumed by a civet becomes “kopi luwak.” If one civet consumes one type of coffee bean such as Arabica and another, eats Robusta, the flavor profile of each coffee will be quite different. Nevertheless, both coffees will share the unique characteristics that the enzyme action that the civet digestion produces—hints of chocolate, heightened flavor profile, absence of bitterness, and uniquely pleasant persistence on the palate. These changes have been acknowledged and catalogued by several university studies.  Why is civet coffee so special? Coffee grows as a seed inside a fruit that resembles a cherry. The Palm Civet is a nighttime forager that considers the ripest and sweetest coffee cherries to be a delicacy, which it swallows whole. It only wants astrological compatibility the fruit, so the hard green coffee beans are passed through undigested. They are then collected, thoroughly cleaned, and roasted like regular coffee beans. Palm Civets have unique natural enzymes in their bellies that permeate the celluloid structure of the hard coffee beans and make it possible for the release during brewing of up to 25 or more otherwise unreachable underwater metal detectors flavor elements. Also, they defuse many of the coffee’s bitter oils. The end product is the world’s smoothest and most flavorful coffee, with exceptionally pleasant recall on the senses, a rare effect that is experienced only with the finest and freshest coffees. A common microdermabrasion machine concern from people about civet coffee is potential bacterial contaminants (e.g. E Coli), others claim that civet coffee is perfectly safe because the civet’s stomach enzymes help to eliminate the bacteria, as does the washing, sun-drying, and the high temperature of the roasting. Due to its popularity—even with its premium per cup price, civet coffee is in high demand—there is outdoor tankless water heaters civet coffee or kopi luwak imitation aplenty. Sometimes, it’s hard for people to tell the difference until it’s too late and they’ve overpaid. Indonesian civet coffee harvesters are well established but their Philippine counterparts have only started gaining ground a few years ago. Philippine civet coffee or Musang Kape and Kape Alamid are on the rise. Local steadicam coffee growers are only now realizing what they have on their hands. Civet coffee is one of the rarest coffees and therefore, demands premium prices. It sells for up to $600 per pound on the world coffee market. It can be found sold by the cup in some coffee houses in Southeast Asia. Being touted as the most expensive coffee in the world both helps and hinders. For some, the prestige makes it extremely desirable; for others, it makes the coffee sound just full of hype and no substance, literally. The weight of living up to the expectation of the price tag and the exotic back-story seems to be almost too much.