The Origin of Civet Coffee, How to Brew Civet Coffee, How Much Does Civet Coffee Cost?

The World's Most Expensive Coffee

Coffee lovers generally know Jamaican Blue Mountain as one of the finest coffees in the world. The most expensive, however, is undoubtedly Kopi Luwak, the Indonesian civet coffee. Rarity makes things precious, and a single pound of Kopi Luwak beans retails for at least six hundred US dollars, which earned it the title of the Rolls-Royce of coffees.

The Origins of Civet Coffee

Civet coffee has long been known as the world's most expensive coffee, and Indonesia is one of its main producing regions.

It is Bali's most famous coffee and the most expensive anywhere. Visitors to the island rarely skip the civet coffee factories, and every taxi driver, whatever the detours, traffic or delays, will insist on taking tourists to one for the extra income.

What Exactly Is Civet Coffee?

Coffee cherries pass through the civet's digestive system, where only the outer fruit pulp is digested. That process breaks down proteins in the bean and reduces the coffee's bitterness, and the beans are excreted completely intact, which earned the drink its nickname, cat poop coffee. Civets are picky eaters and select only the finest cherries, so the brewed coffee comes out rounder and richer with a fragrant, sweet aftertaste.

Kopi Luwak is so precious because it is so hard to obtain. "Kopi" means coffee in Indonesian, while "luwak" refers to the civet. Originally wild animals in Indonesia, though now reportedly farmed because of the profits, civets eat only ripe, red coffee cherries. The fruit pulp is digested in the stomach, but the beans, protected by their hard shells, cannot be and are excreted.

Locals collect the excreted beans from the jungle, then wash, dry and hull them to produce the world's rarest, most precious and most distinctively flavored civet coffee. Thanks to the civet's stomach acid and intestinal fermentation, Kopi Luwak's flavor stands well apart from ordinary coffee.

The Unconventional Truth

Yes, civet coffee really is made from coffee that has passed through an animal, exactly as the name suggests.

Indonesians discovered that beans fermented through the civet's digestive system taste particularly rich and mellow, so they began collecting the droppings, filtering out the beans and brewing them. Scarce supply and high prices have made civet coffee the world's most prestigious, and civet droppings the world's most expensive.

Expert Opinion and Flavor

Experts who have tasted Luwak give polarized reviews. Some describe an exceptional coffee, quite thick, with an extraordinary taste that is hard to pin down, somewhat earthy, with a slightly pungent, organ-like flavor that lingers to the last drop. Others find it hard to swallow and not worth the money, a coffee they consider simply stinky.

Generally speaking, Indonesian coffee carries earthy and herbal notes with a body thickness among the highest in the world. Luwak's earthiness and body are even more intense, the thickness approaching syrup, with a very distinctive aroma. If you already dislike Indonesian coffee, you will dislike Luwak even more. If you favor the earthy flavors of Indonesian aged beans or Indian monsooned coffee, you may well fall for Luwak's similar profile.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee suggests the following brewing parameters:

V60 / 90°C / 1:15 ratio / 2 minutes brewing time

Flavor notes: rich and smooth mouthfeel, caramel, chocolate, nuts, with a hint of mint in the finish.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

What makes a coffee worth a premium is a question civet coffee and Blue Mountain answer in opposite ways: one through novelty and scarcity, the other through balance and provenance. Blue Mountain has the stricter definition of the two. Only coffee grown in specific parts of Jamaica's Blue Mountain range and certified by the Jamaican authorities may be sold as Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. The range lies in eastern Jamaica, among the highest in the Caribbean, its highest peak reaching 2,256 meters, and it is wrapped in cloud for much of the year, which is where the name comes from. High altitude, wide day-night temperature swings, volcanic soil and even rainfall let the cherries ripen slowly and build flavor, and total national output of the Blue Mountain region is under 2,500 tons a year, with Japan historically buying more than 70% of it. Since 2003 Blue Mountain green beans have been exported to China officially.

FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 is the highest grade of the lot, from the long-established Clifton Estate, where coffee has been grown and processed since around 1750. The farm sits at an average of 4,300 feet, or 1,310.64 meters, with mineral-rich soil and gentle afternoon cloud that shade the trees and stretch out the ripening of the cherry. The beans are medium-dark roasted, and the cup shows nut, dark chocolate, cream caramel and a soft sweetness unfolding in layers, with sweet, acidic, bitter and aromatic notes held in balance.

Buying genuine Blue Mountain is mostly a question of documentation. There is no traceability code, but the importer should hold complete export certification and origin papers, and traditional Blue Mountain beans ship in wooden barrels sized 15, 45 and 70 kilograms, each barrel itself a mark of the real thing. To brew it, FrontStreet recommends a Kono dripper to play up the body, 15g of coffee rested 4-7 days from the roast date, a grind slightly coarser than you would use for a light roast and about like granulated sugar, water at 87-88°C and a 1:15 ratio. Pour in three stages: 30g for a 30-second bloom, then up to 120g, then to 225g, slowing the pour as the bed drains. Water that is too hot is the usual cause of a scorched, bitter cup, while water that is too cool leaves it flat. A moka pot also suits these beans, using a slightly finer grind, hot water in the base and medium-low heat, pulling it off as the coffee finishes flowing for a thicker cup that holds up in a latte or flat white.