CNN News Team Tries Kopi Luwak Coffee

KOPI LUWAK: The last word in gourmet or just another passing fad?

Sooner or later, any self-respecting coffee connoisseur is going to have to pucker up and discover the taste of the infamous Kopi Luwak (civet coffee). It even has Oprah Winfrey’s seal of approval.

And like much that goes all the way to the top – after all, how much higher than The Big O can you go? – debate rages about just how much is quality and how much is hype.

Some coffee experts in Jakarta dismiss the brew as merely another overhyped, commercialized fad. Others, such as culinary legend William Wongso, believe quality Kopi Luwak exists and should be valued.

Even those who aren’t interested in coffee will pause for thought once learning about the extra step in the Kopi Luwak production process – before it passes into your cup, it passes through the bowels of a furry animal.

The Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) is a cat-like mammal that lives in coffee plantations in Sulawesi, Java and Sumatra.

The civet is unable to digest coffee beans properly; when it eats them, they pass through its digestive system, ending up back on the ground at the other end, more or less intact.

But not untouched – as the bean makes its journey through the civet’s insides, it is exposed to the animal’s stomach acids and enzymes, which give it a special kind of fermentation. The excreted beans thus take on an unusual taste.

Brewing these beans (after washing, one hopes) produces an unusual drink. The beans are hard to come by, given the specialized harvesting techniques required, which makes it boutique and hard to come by and therefore, to some, very high class.

At the Kopi Luwak café in Mal Kelapa Gading 2, you can try both “pure” Kopi Luwak, or a mere hint in a blend of Luwak (3%) and standard coffee beans.

A 10 gram sachet of the unadulterated variety costs around Rp 75,000 (US$8).

So it’s not just its origin that raises eyebrows. It is reportedly the most expensive coffee in the world.

The high price is a simple matter of supply and demand, says Indonesian coffee expert Alun Evans.

“Is it worth the price? Well I guess that is all in the eye of the beholder.”

Nevertheless, Yudhi, 26, is still eager to try the Indonesian drink.

After all, what does he have to lose – it wouldn’t be the first time someone pays too much for a coffee that tastes like it’s come out of an animal’s rear end.

But 24-year-old Filipe Campos Michel just can’t stop thinking about where it came from.
“I don’t think I could drink it,” he says. “I just don’t think I could.”

Others see it as a special coffee experience, endorsed not only by Oprah but by a civet as well.
“The civet finds a good quality of coffee bean,” Yudhi says. “That’s why people like to drink it.”
The Kopi Luwak is served black, so it is at its richest. It has a deep chocolate color, with a rich, sweet flavor. It is also a little more grainy than standard coffee.

Yudhi, at least, liked it.

“It tastes sort of creamy,” he says. “It has a very strong aftertaste.”

He won’t make it a habit, though, with its designer price tag.

“It is good to try it, but not to drink it all the time.”

JP/Michelle Keenan

*The Jakarta Post | Life | Sat, January 17 2009, 1:19 PM

CIVET COFFEE IS VERY DELICIOUS COFFEE

Kopi luwak or civet coffee, is one of the world's most expensive and low-production varieties of coffee. It is made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract. A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In the digestive tract, the civets' proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then defecated, keeping their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness. This coffee is widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world with prices reaching $350 per kilogram ($160 per pound).Kopi luwak is produced mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago.

History.

The origin of Kopi Luwak is closely connected with the history of coffee production in Indonesia. In the early 18th century the Dutch established the cash-crop coffee plantations in their colony in the Dutch East Indies islands of Java and Sumatra, including Arabica coffee introduced from Yemen. During the era of Cultuurstelsel (1830—1870), the Dutch prohibited the native farmers and plantation workers from picking coffee fruits for their own use. Still, the native farmers wanted to have a taste of the famed coffee beverage. Soon, the natives learned that certain species of musang or luwak (Asian Palm Civet) consumed the coffee fruits, yet they left the coffee seeds undigested in their droppings. The natives collected these luwaks' coffee seed droppings, then cleaned, roasted and ground them to make their own coffee beverage. The fame of aromatic civet coffee spread from locals to Dutch plantation owners and soon became their favorite, yet because of its rarity and unusual process, the civet coffee was expensive even in colonial times. 

Cultivars, blends, and tastes.

Kopi luwak is a name for many specific cultivars and blends of arabica, robusta, liberica or other beans eaten by civets, hence the taste can vary greatly. Nonetheless, kopi luwak coffees have a shared aroma profile and flavor characteristics, along with their lack of bitterness. Kopi luwak has a thick texture, and tastes vary depending on roasting levels. Usually, levels range from cinnamon color to medium, with little or no carmelization of sugars within the beans as happens with heavy roasting. Moreover, kopi luwaks which have very smooth profiles are most often given a lighter roast, though at first taste it can seem a bit strong in flavor. Iced kopi luwak brews may bring out some flavors not found in other coffees. Other berries eaten by civets can give kopi luwak a pungent, sometimes bitter taste, though it varies depending on the diet of the civet. 

Production.

Kopi is the Indonesian word for coffee. Luwak is a local name of the Asian Palm Civet in Sumatra. Palm civets are primarily frugivorous, feeding on berries and pulpy fruits such as figs and palms. Civets also eat small vertebrates, insects, ripe fruits and seeds.  Early production began when beans were gathered in the wild from where a civet would defecate as a means to mark its territory. On farms, civets are either caged or allowed to roam within defined boundaries. Coffee cherries are eaten by a civet for their fruit pulp. After spending about a day and a half in the civet's digestive tract the beans are then defecated in clumps, having kept their shape and still covered with some of the fleshy berry's inner layers. They are gathered, thoroughly washed, sun dried and given only a light roast so as to keep the many intertwined flavors and lack of bitterness yielded inside the civet.