Kopi Luwak, an Expensive Coffee Made from Coffee Beans Excrete of Civet Cats

Story:

Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world and is made from coffee beans eaten, partly digested and then excreted by the common palm Civet, a weasel-like animal.

Picture: Kopi Luwak, an Expensive Coffee Made from Coffee Beans Excrete of Civet Cats — Kopi Luwak, an Expensive Coffee Made from Coffee Beans Excrete of Civet Cats

Analysis:

The message talks about Kopi Luwak, which has been called the most expensive Coffee in the world, that it is made from coffee beans eaten, partly digested and then excreted by the common palm Civet cat. Yes, it is a fact.

Kopi Luwak is a famous, costly and supposedly tasty coffee predominantly sold in Indonesia. It is also called Civet Coffee, as it is made of fermented beans, which are harvested – from the feces of the Asian palm Civet. Asian palm Civets are small gray and black cat-like mammals inhabiting Asian forests. “Kopi” is the Indonesian word for coffee and “Luwak” is the local name of the Civet cat. The coffee firms say that the Civet cats eat the ripest red coffee cherry and digest the soft outer part of it, but do not digest the inner coffee beans which are and excreted. It is said that the internal stomach enzymes of the Civet cats ends up adding a unique flavor to the coffee beans, removing its bitter flavor, which is why the beans are then picked up by locals and sold for making coffee.

The Kopi Luwak, i.e. the Civet Coffee is said to have a distinct and desirable flavor. Kopi luwak became popular after it was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show and was even mentioned in the 2007 film ‘The Bucket List.’ Because of this popularity and an apparently desirable flavor, some restaurants price a cup of civet coffee up to USD 100.

Another Concern

Most retailers of Kopi Luwak say that the coffee is wild-sourced from the middle of the jungle from the droppings of free-roaming Civet cats without harming the animals, and they call their business ethical. However, undercover reporters from the BBC visited some civet coffee farms in Indonesia and witnessed civets being held in captivity and enclosed cages in bad conditions. It is also a fact that producing large amounts of this civet coffee from exclusively wild sources is simply not possible. As shown in the above video, the PETA Asia Pacific, an affiliate of PETA US, also addressed this unethical and cruel treatment of the animals. To avoid consuming this coffee made from coffee beans partly eaten and excreted by the Civet cats and to stop the unethical treatment of those animals, PETA calls people to stop drinking Civet Coffee.