Kopi Luwak (Civet Coffee)

Most Expensive Coffee

Kopi Luwak are robusta or arabica coffee beans which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Indonesian Civet (family of Viverridae). This process takes place on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago.

"Kopi" is the Indonesian word for coffee and "Luwak" is local name of this animal which eats the raw red coffee 'cherries' 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 flavour through fermentation of some type.

Kopi Luwak Coffee comes from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an area well known for its excellent coffee. Also native to the area is a small civet-like animal called a Paradoxurus. The locals call them luwaks. These little mammals live in the trees and one of their favorite foods is the red, ripe coffee cherry. They eat the cherries, bean and all. While the bean is in the little guy's stomach, it undergoes chemical treatments and fermentations. The bean finishes its journey through the digestive system, and exits. The still-intact beans are collected from the forest floor, and are cleaned, then roasted and ground just like any other coffee. The resulting coffee is said to be like no other. It has a rich, heavy flavor with hints of caramel or chocolate.

Other terms used to describe it are earthy, musty and exotic. The body is almost syrupy and it's very smooth.

Because of the rarity of this coffee, the price is quite outrageous. If you can find a vendor, the current cost for a pound of Kopi Luwak is around $150 or more. Some more adventurous coffee houses are selling it by the cup for $15 - $30, but you won't likely find it at your local coffee shop just yet. Is it really worth of the price? Why not? You are paying for the experience of enjoying such an unusual phenomenon.

The rare Luwak Coffee Beans as shown on the Oprah Winfrey show
NOW are available with the gift boxes, handcrafted in the United States.

Kopi Luwak
Indonesia

$160 per pound

Luwak Coffee is made from coffee cherries that have been eaten by common palm civets, which use their keen sense of smell to select the choicest and ripest beans. The digestion process removes the flesh from the crimson Sumatran berry and the beans, supposedly sweeter as a result of having passed through the animal, are hand-collected from the jungle floor.