The Origin and Historical Background of Kopi Luwak Explained
Kopi Luwak, scientifically known as civet coffee, is produced in Indonesia. Many people turn up their noses at the name "kopi luwak" and lose any desire to drink it just from hearing the name. In fact, it is one of the most expensive coffees in the world, with a price of up to several hundred US dollars per pound. Its flavor is very unique, and it is especially thick, aromatic and mellow. Let's take a look together at the origin of kopi luwak below!
The Origin of Kopi Luwak
Kopi luwak is produced using the feces of the Indonesian palm civet (a type of civet) as raw material, hence the name "kopi luwak". Civets mainly feed on coffee beans. After fermentation is completed in the civet's stomach, proteins are broken down, producing short peptides and more free amino acids, which reduces the bitter taste of the coffee, and the feces excreted afterward become the main raw material. Since the coffee beans cannot be digested, they are excreted, and after washing and roasting they become kopi luwak.
The Price of Kopi Luwak
Kopi luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world, with only five hundred pounds produced each year, far exceeding the value of Blue Mountain coffee. A 4-ounce cup of kopi luwak can sell for 168 US dollars (about 1,400 yuan). What makes this coffee rare is that it comes from the feces of a wild Indonesian civet. In order to obtain the precious "kopi luwak beans", local farmers in Indonesia catch civets and raise them in cages, and some coffee merchants simply lease an entire island to free-range these cats, letting them enjoy an environment of natural sunshine and rain. In Indonesia, some local farmers catch palm civets to raise and feed them coffee beans to produce it, but there is still a certain difference between artificial breeding and the natural kind.
The Production of Kopi Luwak
1. Indonesians remove the silvery-gray film on the surface of the coffee beans, wash them with water, dry them in the sun, and then stir-fry them, and they become kopi luwak beans.
2. From one jin of civet excrement, only about 150 grams of coffee beans can be extracted, and the roasting process also causes a 20% loss. Because both the raw material and the production process are very unique, this coffee can be said to be extremely rare, and the coffee beans supplied to the world each year will not exceed 400 kilograms at most.
3. Traditionally, coffee cherries are processed by the washed or sun-dried method to remove the excess parts and extract the coffee beans, but kopi luwak obtains its coffee beans by making use of natural fermentation inside the civet's body, and therefore has a unique flavor.