LUWAK COFFEE

Coffee grows in many countries around the world. Some varieties even have special reputation, which is usually based on a combination of rarity, unusual circumstances, and a good flavor. But perhaps no coffee in the world, has such unique flavor and quite interesting background as Luwak Coffee or here in Indonesian known as Kopi Luwak. The price is also special which is about $ 75 per quarter pound. Pretty expensive, don’t you think?

So, what makes Kopi Luwak so special? Kopi Luwak also known as Civet coffee comes from the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is made from coffee berries, which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive system of one type of mammal, called the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus Hermaphroditus). A Palm Civet is a dark brown tree-dwelling cat-like creature that can be found throughout Southeast Asia. In Indonesia it is known as Luwak, which is the origin of the term Kopi Luwak.

The little mammals live in the trees and one of their favorite foods is the red, ripe coffee berry. The luwak will eat only the choicest, most perfectly matured berries. They eat the berries, bean, and all. Then while the beans are in their stomach, it experiences chemical treatments and fermentation. After they finish the journey through the digestive system, the beans exit. The still-intact beans are collected from the forest ground, then cleaned. After that they are roasted and ground just like the usual coffee. It is said that the result has a rich, heavy flavor with a bit of caramel or chocolate taste. Some refer it as earthy, musty, and exotic. It feels almost syrupy and very smooth.

Because of the strange method of collecting Kopi Luwak, there is not much of it produced in the world. This obviously affected the price to be quite high. In United States for example, in coffee vendors, Kopi Luwak is sold $ 300 or more per pound.

However, Indonesia now is not the only producer of Kopi Luwak. In Vietnam, there is also a type of coffee produced in the same way as Kopi Luwak. The Vietnamese call it caphe cut chon (“fox dung coffee”), because the luwak or civets resemble foxes to them. While in the Philippines this kind of coffee called Kape Alamid.