The Origin Story of East Timor Civet Coffee and the Flavor Differences Between East Timor Civet Coffee and East Timor Coffee

Civet Coffee: A Story of Compassion and Authenticity

Kopi Luwak, also known as civet coffee, uses raw coffee beans eaten and excreted by wild civets, with the Timor variety imported from Timor-Leste.

Recently the production process of civet coffee has been accused of involving cruelty to civets, causing a major earthquake in the coffee market and sparking a boycott movement. Yet it turns out there is another authentic civet coffee on the market - one with no cruelty scandal attached, one that might even help rescue the economy of the small nation of Timor-Leste. It was discovered only last year by two Hong Kong residents who were warmly received by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Timor-Leste president Jose Ramos-Horta. Real civet coffee, it seems, can have both compassion and integrity: wild civets and poor farmers supporting each other. When Shi Yongli (Sukie) accepted Edwin's invitation to taste that cup of civet coffee, she also heard many touching stories.

The Dark Side of Commercial Civet Coffee

Some civet coffee on the market was previously exposed by PETA Asia for severely abusing animals during production. Coffee farmers confine civets in extremely small cages, forcing them to eat coffee beans nonstop to accelerate production of the world's second-most expensive coffee, whose demand keeps rising. Yet in one distant country, civet coffee still maintains its original simplicity. There, wild civets and coffee farmers had spent years locked in mutual damage - until last year, when two Hong Kongers walked into the mountains of Timor-Leste to visit coffee farmers and discovered that these little animals, who always seemed to be stealing the farmers' beans, had been laying "golden eggs" for them all along.

Two Hong Kong Residents Touch Timor-Leste

Edwin Li, Hong Kong-born owner of Colour Brown Coffee, and Daniel Groshong, a former war correspondent for Time Magazine and the Associated Press who had lived in Hong Kong for 18 years, traveled together to Timor-Leste last year. They went deep into remote mountain areas with poor transport to observe the lives of local coffee farmers - and unexpectedly discovered that, to keep civets from stealing their beans, farmers were harvesting coffee early, before the cherries ripened and turned red, which greatly reduced coffee quality. The farmers, moreover, had never even heard of civet coffee. Edwin pointed out that unripe beans are poor in quality, while civets specifically steal the most delicious ripe beans - precisely the quality guarantee of civet coffee. The farmers had an epiphany. Former Timor-Leste president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta even sent a letter thanking them for their contribution to the country. The two brought these wild-collected beans into Colour Brown's cups. Edwin said they were willing to lose money on it, giving all income from the $298-per-cup civet coffee to help local farmers: "The village we visited is rated as the best organic Arabica coffee producing area in Timor-Leste. Daniel has been continuously assisting the farmers - teaching coffee knowledge, improving quality, giving them manual coffee depulpers, building sun-drying fields and a central warehouse."

Shi Yongli Refuses Civet Cruelty

Shi Yongli is a lover of civet coffee, but she felt deeply unhappy after hearing the recent abuse scandal. She said: "Forcing civets to eat coffee beans is truly inhumane. They even call themselves organic products. I think this behavior is quite despicable, and people who buy this kind of civet coffee become accomplices! There are still many undiscovered natural resources on Earth. Once discovered, they should be well protected. I fully support Edwin's actions." As Sukie listened to Edwin's stories while tasting the civet coffee served in four small cups, she felt the freedom of the wild civets in Timor-Leste's remote villages and shared those beautiful memories. At the same time she tasted fresh coffee beans grown by Edwin himself, hoping for some kind of chemical reaction in her body.

Complete Decoding of Civet Coffee

Edwin explained that wild civets feed on ripe coffee cherries. Their digestive systems break down the fruit pulp and excrete the hard beans. Having been fermented by stomach acids, some of the beans' proteins are broken down into more free amino acids: the coffee's bitterness decreases, and unique flavors emerge. Although civet coffee is not part of the specialty coffee category, its distinctive flavor has become legendary. In recent years people have also produced elephant-dung and squirrel-dung coffee, but these are mere gimmicks.

Civets Also Need a Balanced Diet

Edwin said: "There are three methods of producing civet coffee in Indonesia. One confines civets in spaces no bigger than chicken coops, with no room to move, and forces them to eat only coffee beans. Another uses large cages where civets can move freely. And a third lets civets roam free across vast coffee plantations. But civets actually need other fruits besides coffee beans, and coffee forests often lack other fruit trees, so free-roaming civets have little to eat. In contrast, well-managed farms have keepers who regularly feed civets many high-sugar fruits like bananas, apples and oranges. To produce high-quality civet coffee, the civets need a balanced diet and a happy life." For Edwin, Timor-Leste's civet coffee preserves the natural ecosystem while letting wild civets enjoy rich food resources and a good living environment - animals, farmers and drinkers all win.

Ecological Journey in Timor-Leste

Daniel Groshong, now settled in Hong Kong, came to know former president Jose Ramos-Horta during Timor-Leste's independence movement. He later lived in Timor-Leste for a time and discovered the country's beautiful ecological resources. Realizing he could help local farmers through fair-trade coffee and better production techniques, he founded the green social enterprise Hummingfish Foundation. He buys beans directly from farmers, carries them home in his backpack, and has professional coffee tasters evaluate and study them to improve quality.

At the same time he started ecotourism to prevent the environmental damage caused by overdevelopment. Daniel's Timor-Leste television series was even used by the country as an official diplomatic gift to visiting heads of state. Every time Daniel returns to Timor-Leste, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ramos-Horta personally welcomes him. Today, enjoy the photos Daniel took for the coffee farmers of Timor-Leste.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If wild-processed, full-bodied coffee is your thing, Indonesia's Mandheling is the classic expression of that style. FrontStreet Coffee offers two: the FrontStreet Lintong Mandheling house coffee from the traditional Lintong region around Lake Toba, and the FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling from the Aceh highlands. Both are wet-hulled - a Sumatran method born of the island's relentless rain, in which the parchment is stripped off while the beans are still half-dry, accelerating drying and creating Mandheling's wild herbal, spice-laden character.

The PWN Golden Mandheling is the top of the line: produced by Indonesia's PWN company, it uses only beans above 18 screen size with fewer than 3 defects per 300g of green coffee (G1 grade), then adds three rounds of hand sorting. Roasted medium-dark, it brews into a clean, heavy cup with woody aroma, dark chocolate and caramel, and very low acidity - a favorite for anyone who dislikes sour coffee, whether brewed as pour-over or pulled on an espresso machine.

For those who want the traditional, untamed side of Sumatra at a gentler price, the FrontStreet Lintong Mandheling delivers clove and woody aromatics, a strong and stimulating entry, and a thick, persistent sweetness that lingers long after the cup is finished.