Kopi luwak

Kopi luwak or Civet coffee are coffee berries which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Common palm civet. The animals gorge on the ripe berries, and the undigested beans are excreted. This process takes place on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago, in the Philippines (where the product is called Kape Alamid), in the country of Vietnam, and the coffee estates of South India.

"Kopi" is the Indonesian word for coffee, and "luwak" is local name of this animal which eats the raw red coffee "berries" as part of its usual diet. This animal eats a mixed diet of insects, small mammals, and fruits, along with the softer outer part of the coffee cherry, but does not digest the inner beans, instead excreting them still covered in some inner layers of the cherry.

Locals then gather the beans, which come through the "animal stage" fairly intact, and sell them on to dealers. It is believed that enzymes in the stomach of the civet add to the coffee's flavor by breaking down the proteins that give coffee its bitter taste.

The bean is usually given a light roast so as to not destroy the complex flavors which develop through this process.

A 2004 SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) scare led to thousands of Chinese Civet cats being exterminated [1], [2]. Demand for the coffee was not affected.

While praised by many, the beverage is often derided as "cat poop coffee" or, "monkey poo coffee". Despite what these names imply, neither cats or monkies have anything to do with the process. A palm civet is from the family Viverridae. General appearance is mildly cat-like, but the muzzle is extended and often pointed, rather like an otter or a mongoose. Civits are more closely related to raccoons than cats.

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