Kopi Luwak Coffee - Flavor Profile, Taste Characteristics & Bean Price

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The Rise of Civet Coffee

At some point, civet coffee became a favorite among the wealthy. According to local accounts, civet coffee was originally consumed by poor people in the Indonesian region because the best coffee beans were sold for export. Locals accidentally discovered that coffee beans in the civet's excrement were undigested, so they decided to wash and dry them before brewing. This practice was turned into a business opportunity by some who sold civet coffee under the "rare is precious" model, making it a favorite among the wealthy while also leading to many civets being captive-bred for exploitation. FrontStreet Coffee has also sourced and stocked civet coffee, and often hears people say that civet coffee is cruel. FrontStreet Coffee believes that what's cruel is not civet coffee itself, but those who captive-breed civets and force them to eat only coffee cherries.

The Habitat of Civets

Civet cats mainly inhabit tropical rainforests and subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests in hilly and mountainous areas below 2100 meters altitude. They choose rock caves, soil holes, or tree hollows as their habitat sites. Wild civets are omnivorous animals whose animal-based diet includes small mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans, insects, such as mice, small birds, snakes, frogs, fish, crabs, bird eggs, insects, earthworms, and wild fowl. Their plant-based diet includes stems and leaves of Solanaceae plants, various fig seeds, and fruits like trumpet flowers and ground cherries. The coffee cherries they consume include both Arabica and Robusta beans. Under normal circumstances, Arabica beans have better flavor than Robusta, so pure Arabica civet coffee is especially precious.

The Formation of Civet Coffee

Due to the low production of civet coffee, many people believe that although coffee beans are not digested in the civet's digestive tract, the strongly corrosive digestive fluids have corroded their surface. These digestive fluids contain a special protease that can break down the coffee bean's original protein chains, decomposing long-chain proteins into small particles, forming short-chain peptides and amino acids. Later, many businessmen spotted this business opportunity and began to capture civets for large-scale captive breeding. The naturally carnivorous civets could only eat coffee cherries, but the nutritional content in coffee cherries is insufficient to keep civets healthy.

FrontStreet Coffee disagrees with this view! Because when civets only eat coffee cherries long-term, the coffee beans they excrete may be eliminated within just one or two hours after consumption. One or two hours in the civet's stomach is insufficient to produce the series of changes mentioned above. The beans remain essentially the same as when consumed, and even if there are flavor changes, they are minimal. What truly makes coffee flavor good is the original coffee bean variety. These businessmen mostly feed Robusta beans, and often unripe ones. So even if internal fermentation occurs, the bean's original flavor is already there - claiming it tastes good is nothing but a deceptive gimmick.

FrontStreet Coffee's Neutral Stance on Civet Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee maintains a neutral position on civet coffee! The natural formation of civet coffee itself is not problematic - civets use their noses to identify ripe coffee cherries, which is similar to how Ethiopia's red cherries are harvested at full maturity. The problem lies with those who cage civets, forcing them to eat coffee cherries regardless of ripeness, just to increase civet coffee production. This leads to cruel practices that fall outside the scope of our coffee discussion.

In-Vivo Fermentation Processing

Although coffee beans are not digested in the civet's digestive tract, the strongly corrosive digestive fluids corrode their surface. These digestive fluids contain a special protease that can break down the coffee bean's original protein chains, decomposing long-chain proteins into small particles, forming short-chain peptides and amino acids. Definition of short-chain peptides: Short-chain peptides composed of 3-9 amino acid residues are sometimes called oligopeptides.

FrontStreet Coffee's Civet Coffee

Origin: Indonesia, Aceh
Altitude: 1200m
Variety: Arabica
Processing Method: In-vivo fermentation

Indonesia's low-altitude Robusta coffee originally has earthy and medicinal flavors, with high viscosity. Therefore, this civet coffee has the earthy flavor of aged beans, with viscosity almost approaching syrup. Its aroma is very special. If you prefer the earthy flavor of Indonesian aged coffee or Indian monsooned coffee, you might fall in love with this civet coffee flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee's Filter Cup Recommendations for High-Body Coffee

To better express the herbal flavors and rich body of civet coffee, FrontStreet Coffee roasts civet coffee beans using medium-dark roasting. Medium-dark roasted beans generally have higher moisture loss rates, so they weigh less. During brewing, the grounds don't completely sink to the bottom, and initial water injection is immediately absorbed. Due to vigorous gas release, bubbles form around the grounds, creating channels. These channels persist longer with fresher beans, causing water levels to drop quickly. I generally use a coarse water flow and slowly circle pour.

The KONO filter cup can bring out a more rounded and full-bodied flavor, with more direct flavor expression. However, the KONO filter cup has relatively poor gas drainage efficiency because its ribs are straight and only extend one-quarter of the filter cup's depth. Above this quarter, the filter cup wall forms a sealed state. I choose the KONO filter cup because its only gas drainage point is in those quarter-ribs. When water level rises above the rib area, the water volume in the filter cup continuously increases, creating pressure through water weight. Since the outlet is relatively small, it can extend the contact time between coffee particles and water, effectively extracting soluble substances through water flow. This generally achieves the high body effect that customers expect.

How Does FrontStreet Coffee Brew Civet Coffee?

Brewing Parameters: Using KONO filter cup
Water Temperature: 86°C
Dose: 15 grams
Ratio: 1:15 coffee to water ratio
Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (70% retention rate on China standard #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee uses staged extraction, also called three-stage brewing: Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then pour in a circular motion with small water flow to 125g for the first stage. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the filter cup. (Timing starts from bloom) Total extraction time is 2'01".

Civet Coffee Flavor Description: Herbal, nutty, dark chocolate, fermented notes, high body, viscous and smooth mouthfeel.

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Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473