Civet Coffee Flavor Characteristics and Story: Differences Between China's Yunnan and Indonesian Civet Coffee Beans

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Indonesian Civet Coffee can be regarded as the "Hermès" of the specialty coffee market. In 2002, a pound of civet coffee beans was priced as high as $500 in New York. This is because the production of Indonesian civet coffee is extremely low. Although the name "civet coffee" may not sound elegant, its flavor profile carries Indonesia's unique herbal aroma, remarkable body, and an indescribable sweetness. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce the characteristics and story of civet coffee beans.

Origin of Indonesian Civet Coffee

Civet coffee originates from Indonesia. However, as civet coffee gained fame, Vietnam and Myanmar also began producing civet coffee, but their quality does not match that of Indonesian civet coffee, making them more affordable in price.

According to FrontStreet Coffee, Indonesia first discovered civet coffee in the early 18th century. At that time, Dutch colonists introduced coffee trees to Sumatra and Java islands in Indonesia for cultivation and coffee economic trade development, and they prohibited local coffee farmers from picking and consuming coffee fruits.

However, Indonesian coffee farmers were eager to taste the fruits they cultivated. During this time, Indonesia's unique feline animal—the civet cat—frequently came to steal coffee fruits. Civet cats are particularly picky eaters. Although they are omnivores that primarily eat meat, they would steal the ripest, reddest coffee fruits. This greatly frustrated the local coffee farmers, who had to watch helplessly as their labor was stolen and consumed by wild civet cats, unable to taste even a single fruit.

Against this backdrop, local coffee farmers frequently discovered coffee fruits excreted by civet cats in the outdoor grass. Civet cats cannot digest these coffee fruits completely—they can only digest the ripe coffee pulp, while the hard coffee beans are eventually excreted semi-digested. Therefore, whether out of craving or curiosity, local coffee farmers took these civet-excreted coffee beans home, cleaned them thoroughly, and then processed and tasted them. They discovered the flavor was exceptionally good—remarkably rich with a sweet sensation, which brought them great joy. Thus, civet coffee spread among local coffee farmers.

However, this didn't last long. The existence of civet coffee was discovered by Dutch colonists, who then sold it at high prices to European royalty. Due to its scarce production, its price at that time far exceeded that of premium coffees like Jamaican Blue Mountain, making it the most expensive coffee bean in the coffee industry.

Here, FrontStreet Coffee must emphasize that not all coffee beans excreted by feline animals can be called civet coffee. Only coffee beans excreted by local wild civet cats in Indonesia can be termed as civet coffee.

How Does Indonesian Civet Coffee Taste?

So, how good must the flavor of civet coffee be to drive coffee enthusiasts worldwide crazy about it? Actually, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the flavor of civet coffee beans is very similar to Indonesia's most famous Mandheling coffee beans.

This is because civet cats mainly inhabit the hills below 2,100 meters above sea level in Indonesia, which are low-altitude regions. The coffee varieties in these areas are predominantly Robusta. Therefore, civet coffee contains not only Indonesia's Typica variety coffee beans but also Robusta beans. Consequently, civet coffee also carries the characteristic earthy and herbal aromas of Robusta coffee beans. Additionally, Indonesia's unique wet-hulled processing method makes the coffee even richer with distinctive herbal flavors.

Secondly, the biggest difference between civet coffee and Indonesian Mandheling coffee beans is that civet coffee beans are selected through the civet cat's keen sense of smell for the ripest and sweetest coffee fruits. This shares similarities with Ethiopia's Red Cherry Project—except that one involves manually harvesting 100% ripe coffee fruits, while the other involves animal selection of ripe coffee fruits. This natural selection of ripe coffee fruits lays the foundation for the excellent flavor of civet coffee.

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the flavor of civet coffee is indeed good. However, with the development of the specialty coffee market, many producing regions now use fully ripe coffee fruits to produce coffee beans. For example, Indonesia's local PWN company's Golden Mandheling coffee selects fully ripe coffee fruits and undergoes three manual selections and one machine selection to remove defective beans, ensuring Mandheling's quality. Thus, civet coffee is more of a gimmick. If you're not truly curious about whether civet coffee has any special flavors, FrontStreet Coffee would still recommend coffee enthusiasts choose Indonesia's PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans.

Additionally, according to FrontStreet Coffee's research, some cupping experts say that the selling point of civet coffee lies in its story rather than its quality. Because according to SCAA standards, civet coffee's rating sometimes doesn't score higher than ordinary coffee beans, and sometimes even scores lower than them.

Moreover, during cupping, FrontStreet Coffee found that the flavor of civet coffee is somewhat milder in acidity and taste compared to other Indonesian coffees like Mandheling. FrontStreet Coffee quotes the words of experts who have tasted civet coffee: Generally, Indonesian coffee carries earthy and traditional Chinese medicine flavors, with a relatively thick body but a very unique aroma. However, if you don't like Indonesian coffee flavors, civet coffee may not be suitable for you. But if you can accept the fishy taste of aged Mandheling coffee beans, you might fall in love with the unique flavor of this civet coffee.

Civet Cat's In-body Fermentation Processing Method

As FrontStreet Coffee often mentions in previous articles, the quality of coffee bean flavor is mainly determined by coffee growing region, variety, and processing method. So, does the civet cat's in-body fermentation processing method really have a significant impact on coffee bean flavor?

Some merchants believe that although coffee beans are not digested in the civet cat's digestive tract, the highly corrosive digestive juices have corroded their surface. These digestive juices contain special proteases that can break down the original protein chains of coffee beans, decomposing long-chain proteins into small particles, forming short-chain peptides and amino acids, making the coffee beans' flavor better.

However, in fact, according to FrontStreet Coffee, civet cats excrete coffee beans probably within just one or two hours after consumption. Coffee beans spend only one or two hours in the civet cat's stomach. FrontStreet Coffee believes such a short time is insufficient to produce the series of changes mentioned above. The beans are still the same beans that were eaten, and even if there are flavor changes, they are just subtle variations.

The in-body fermentation processing method is merely a gimmick for merchants to sell civet coffee because after collection, local coffee farmers still process the beans using Indonesia's unique wet-hulled method. The civet cat's contribution is simply selecting ripe coffee fruits. Therefore, the in-body fermentation processing method actually doesn't contribute significantly to the flavor profile of civet coffee.

The above is the story and related content about civet coffee compiled by FrontStreet Coffee. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share some information about this civet coffee at FrontStreet Coffee shop and its brewing data.

FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Civet Coffee Beans

Country: Indonesia
Region: Sumatra
Altitude: 1600-2100 meters
Variety: Arabica
Processing Method: Civet Cat In-body Fermentation
Flavor Profile: Herbal, Nutty, Dark Chocolate, Fermented Notes

FrontStreet Coffee's Roasting Recommendations for Civet Coffee

Roasting Machine: Yangjia 800N: Preheat the drum to 200°C, then reduce to 160°C before adding beans. Set airflow to 3, adjust heat to 130. Return temperature point at 1'28". Maintain heat, beans turn yellow at 5'40", grassy aroma disappears, entering dehydration stage. Increase heat to 140, open airflow to 4. Surface develops wrinkles, toast aroma transforms to coffee aroma, signaling prelude to first crack. Reduce heat to 100, open airflow to 5, and listen for first crack sound. First crack begins at 9'15", fully open airflow to 5. Development time after first crack: 4'25" minutes, discharge at 203°C.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations for Civet Coffee

Dripper: KONO
Water Temperature: 86-87°C
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Medium-coarse grind (75% retention rate on China standard #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee uses segmented extraction: Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds. Using a small water stream, pour in a circular motion to 125g, then segment. When the water level drops to just expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop pouring. When the water level drops to just expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper (timing starts from bloom). Extraction time: 2'00".

Civet Coffee Flavor Description: Herbal, nutty, dark chocolate, fermented notes, rich body, smooth.

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