Kopi luwak is widely known as the rarest, most expensive coffee in the world. The main factor of it’s high price is the uncommon method of producing such a coffee. It has been produced from the coffee beans which have been digested by a certain Indonesian cat-like animal called then Asian Palm Civet or also civet cat. From here, a farmer or coffee harvester would grab the defecated beans and begin processing them. It is the reason kopi luwak is also called cat poop coffee or civet cat coffee.

The price for a single cup of kopi luwak coffee runs $ 35 to $100 in regular coffee shop  and a one pound bag of beans costs $100 to $600.

Kopi Luwak coffee can be brewed like any other coffee. Avoid using sugar, milk or cream in your kopi luwak, because with these ingredients you will not be able to taste its unique flavor.

When the cats (civets) eat the coffee berries, fermentation of the coffee beans occurs in the cat’s digestive system. During this process, the cat’s proteolytic enzymes seep into the coffee beans, thus creating shorten peptide as well as an abundance of amino acids. This is what gives this coffee it’s unique flavour and aroma. So during this entire digestive process, the beans are transformed into the Kopi Luwak many coffee drinkers have grown to adore. This process is known to lower the bitterness of the coffee.

Palm civet cats inhabit almost all parts of Southeast Asia, India, Nepal and Sri-Lanka

How it was discovered

This coffee was first originally discovered by Indonesian farmers in the early 1700s when they were working on  Dutch coffee plantations. Since the Indonesians natives weren’t allowed to pick the coffee berries for themselves, they decided to acquire coffee beens in a different way- by picking them out of cat droppings. They would then take those coffee beans, roast them, and brew them. As the civet coffee became more popular with the natives, the Dutch started to catch on. As a result, the coffee became very in-demand. This, however, became an issue since the demand was high, but the quantity of civet coffee beans were low (very time consuming and unnatural process). As a result, this coffee became very expensive.

Kopi Luwak is mainly produced in Indonesia. The Indonesian island of Sumatra is the world’s largest regional producer of the coffee. There are also a few of these coffee farms in Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines.