Luwak

LuwakKopi luwak is all the rage among coffee connoisseurs —and it’s not just the brew’s smooth, earthy taste that has brought it so much attention. The interest is also fueled by the unusual way the coffee beans make their way from the plant to the cup. The aromatic kopi luwak is brewed from ripe beans that have passed through the digestive tract of the Asian palm civet — a nocturnal, catlike animal known locally as a “luwak.” Turning normal coffee beans, grown mainly in Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi, into one of the world’s finest beverages is no small feat. Its labor-intensive production process is what makes kopi luwak an expensive luxury.

Umul Khairi, who runs a small-scale kopi luwak business in West Sumatra, said the high cost of the coffee was due partly to its scarcity. Only around 500 pounds [230 kilograms] of the coffee is produced in Indonesia each year,” Umul said, adding that the end product can sell for hundreds of dollars per kilogramEstablished in 2006, Umul’s Rafflesia Luwak Coffee company — named after the flower that blooms once a year in the area — is located in the village of Batang Palupuh, around 90 kilometers north of Padang.

Kopi luwak’s production process begins when the ripe arabica coffee cherries are eaten by wild civets that prowl the jungle for the ripest, choicest beansThe coffee beans go through the civet’s digestive system, collecting in the stomach where they sit for around 15 hours before they are excreted,” Umul said. “The digestive process removes the outer layer of the coffee cherries and the process of fermentation takes care of the rest. It’s all to do with the civet’s stomach acids and the enzyme action that takes place in the stomach.”

Luwak