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Kopi Luwak Brewing Methods, Flavor Profile, and Pricing Guide

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information. Follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). Kopi Luwak, also known as civet coffee, originates from Sumatra, Indonesia. It costs up to $300 per pound, which is 10 times more expensive than Blue Mountain coffee. The reason for its high price is that it's the excrement of the civet cat! The civet cat eats coffee cherry fruits from the trees, and after passing through their digestive system, they are excreted.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

What is Civet Coffee?

Civet coffee originates from Sumatra, Indonesia. It costs up to $300 per pound, which is 10 times more expensive than Blue Mountain coffee. The reason for its high price is... because it's the excrement of civets!

When civets eat coffee cherries from trees, the coffee that comes out after passing through their digestive system is what's known as civet coffee. The coffee cherries are not digested in the civet's stomach, but the enzymes in their digestive tract combine with the coffee beans, breaking down proteins and thus reducing the coffee's bitterness and astringency. Since the coffee beans cannot be digested, they are excreted intact. The coffee beans are still covered by parchment, and after cleaning, drying, and roasting, they become civet coffee.

Origin and Production Process

Civet coffee originates from the "civet cat," which naturally selects the ripest and sweetest fruits. Therefore, it eats mature red coffee cherries, including the pulp and beans. The enzymes in the civet's digestive tract combine with the coffee beans, breaking down proteins and reducing bitterness and astringency. However, the hard coffee seeds cannot be digested and are excreted after a unique fermentation process. The coffee beans remain covered by parchment and are cleaned, dried, and roasted to become civet coffee. Traditionally, coffee cherries are processed through washed or natural methods to remove the skin, pulp, and parchment layers to extract the beans. However, luwak (civet coffee) uses natural in-body fermentation to extract the beans, resulting in a special flavor.

Value and Rarity

Indonesians discovered that coffee beans fermented in civet digestive systems are particularly rich and aromatic. They began collecting civet excrement, filtering out the coffee beans, and brewing them for consumption. Due to its rare production, the price remains extremely high. Civet coffee is the most expensive coffee in the world, and civet excrement has become the most expensive feces globally.

Taste Profile and Expert Opinions

Experts who have tasted civet coffee offer polarized evaluations. Some describe it as an exceptional coffee, quite thick with an extraordinary flavor that's hard to describe—somewhat earthy, with a slightly pungent taste and organ meat notes that linger in the mouth until the last drop. Others find it difficult to swallow, considering it not worth spending money on "stinky coffee."

Flavor Characteristics

Generally, Indonesian coffees have earthy and traditional Chinese medicinal notes, with the highest body among all coffee origins. However, luwak's earthiness and body are even stronger—the body is almost syrup-like, and the aroma is very distinctive. If you don't originally like Indonesian coffee, you will definitely dislike civet coffee even more. If you prefer the earthy notes of Indonesian aged beans or Indian monsooned coffee, you might fall in love with civet coffee's similar flavor profile.

The Civet's Special Gland

The Indonesian civet has a gland near its genital organs that secretes a milky-white oil, which has always been a precious raw material in the perfume industry. Even William Shakespeare's famous tragedy "King Lear" contains a line: "Give me some civet oil to stimulate my inspiration." However, in large doses, it has a pungent odor, and civets sometimes spray this oil to defend themselves.