Nav: Home > Coffee >

Essential Guide to Indonesian Coffee: Kopi Luwak Bean Prices and Brewing Methods

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information. Please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). Kopi Luwak: In the Indonesian language, "Kopi" means coffee, while "Luwak" is the local name for the civet cat. It is said that the annual production of this coffee does not exceed 500 pounds, with prices ranging from $300 to $800 per pound, depending on the year, because it is not

Professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Introduction to Kopi Luwak

In Indonesian, "Kopi" means coffee, and "Luwak" is the local name for the civet cat. It is said that the annual production of this coffee does not exceed 500 pounds, with prices ranging from $300 to $800 per pound, depending on the year, as there is no fixed annual production. It comes from the droppings of a tree-dwelling wild animal called the civet cat on Indonesia's Sumatra island, which undergo several processes including selection, sun-drying, deodorization, processing, and roasting to create the world's rarest, most unique, and most expensive coffee.

Production Principle

Civet cats prefer to select the most mature, sweet, and plump coffee berries from coffee trees as food. After passing through their digestive system, only the fruit pulp is digested, while the extremely hard coffee beans inside undergo fermentation in the civet cat's stomach and are excreted unchanged. This digestive process creates unparalleled magical changes in the coffee beans, resulting in unique flavors. The brewed coffee has an exceptionally fragrant and mellow taste, with a rich, rounded sweetness that cannot be compared to other coffee beans. This is because the civet cat's digestive system breaks down the proteins in the coffee beans, reducing the bitterness caused by proteins and enhancing the rounded mouthfeel of these coffee beans.

Because wild civet cats are naturally better at selecting good coffee fruits - they are natural coffee selectors - the coffee they choose is always the best, which gives this coffee its extraordinary characteristics.

Unique Flavor

What is the flavor of this coffee like? Indonesian coffee generally has earthy and medicinal notes, with the highest body among all continental coffees. However, Kopi Luwak has even stronger earthy flavors and body, with a special aroma. After drinking, there remains a light, cool minty feeling in the mouth - an "exclusive flavor" that other coffees don't have.

If you don't like Indonesian coffee to begin with, you probably won't like Kopi Luwak. However, if you prefer the earthy taste of aged beans and don't mind the "origin story" of Kopi Luwak (well, let's call it an acquired taste), you might fall in love with this alternative coffee. Experts who have tasted Kopi Luwak generally have only two evaluations: "wonderful" and "terrible"! Anyway, you must agree that it's one of the finest coffees in the world!

Experts say that Indonesian civet cats have a gland near their genitals that secretes a milky-white oil, which has always been a precious raw material in the perfume industry. If you were thinking about feeding coffee berries to your lazy cat at home to produce some "cat poop coffee," please dismiss that thought immediately.

Brewing Method

The aroma of Kopi Luwak is more easily lost than regular coffee. To maintain its flavor, the coffee beans must be individually packaged, and the production process is complex and rigorous. If you want to enjoy the true flavor of Kopi Luwak, it's recommended not to add sugar or milk to the coffee. Use a siphon brewer, add 160-180 ml of pure water, and pour in 17 grams (about 2 level tablespoons) of coffee powder. After the water rises and boils, gently press down the protruding coffee powder with a flat bamboo stick. Remember!! Do not stir, otherwise the coffee will become bitter, sour, and astringent.

The water temperature should be 96°C with a pressure of 9-10 atm. After boiling for about 1 minute 45 seconds to 2 minutes, quickly remove from the heat source while repeatedly wiping the lower glass bulb with a cold, damp cloth to cool it rapidly. The brewed coffee will fall quickly, presenting a large amount of golden, fine foam, thus achieving the ultimate flavor. With general brewing methods, some say civet cat coffee can be brewed 2-3 times, but with the above method, due to prolonged boiling, it's considered the essence and re-brewing is not recommended.

Authenticity Identification

Today, the market is flooded with fake Kopi Luwak. Even though it has been industrialized, genuine civet cat coffee still has very low production. Most civet cat coffee on the market is either coffee beans fermented in other animals' bodies or simply regular coffee beans falsely labeled. 99% of consumers cannot distinguish the difference in coffee taste.

Therefore, today I'm going to tell you how to identify genuine "Kopi Luwak":

Special flavor sources of Kopi Luwak:

1. The special body odor of the civet cat itself

2. The digestive process consumes a large amount of sugar

The body odor is very special, there's nothing to be done about that. But what's the taste impact of consuming sugar? With less sugar, there's less bitterness formed by caramelization during the roasting process. Having a special aroma without bitterness makes many people find it delicious. Delicious and rare, so it's expensive.

Observation of genuine civet cat coffee (Kopi Luwak) green beans:

They should be clean and easily separated.

Civet cats feed on coffee berries as their main food during the bean maturation season. After complete digestion, the sugar is consumed, and the beans in the feces lose their stickiness. The coffee beans won't stick together. Once dry, they quickly separate, appearing as scattered individual beans.

Finally, I must remind everyone that while Kopi Luwak does have a unique flavor and is "valuable due to its rarity," it can at best be considered a "novelty variety." Coffee cultivation and production have a long history, having formed a complex and rigorous system with clear definitions for specialty coffee. True coffee lovers should learn more about coffee origins and flavor knowledge. There's no need to spend the exorbitant price of Kopi Luwak to taste truly good coffee.

Recommended Indonesian Coffee Bean Brands

The Indonesian coffee beans roasted by FrontStreet Coffee - [West Java Honey Process Coffee] - offer full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they offer extremely high value for money. A half-pound (227 grams) package costs only about 118 yuan. Calculating at 15 grams per cup, one package can make 15 cups, with each cup costing only about 7 yuan. Compared to the tens of yuan per cup sold in coffee shops, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online shop services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com