Which Indonesian Coffee Brands Are Good? Introduction to Delicious Indonesian Coffee Brands

FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Coffee Brand - Introduction to Civet Coffee

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Civet coffee, also known as "cat poop coffee," is produced from the droppings of the Indonesian palm civet, also called the toddy cat. After the civet eats coffee cherries, the beans ferment and lose their shells inside its stomach. The digestive process produces hormones and breaks down proteins, and the resulting amino acids reduce the coffee's original bitterness. Since the beans cannot be digested, the cleaned droppings become the most valuable raw material.

According to reports by Animal Protection, the origin of civet coffee can be traced back to Indonesia's colonial era. At that time the Dutch government forbade locals from consuming or roasting coffee from the plantations, but they discovered by accident that the beans wild civets excreted after feeding in the gardens had a completely different, delicious flavor. The news spread and the reputation grew quickly, turning this coffee into a favorite among tourists in recent years.

Over the years, the taste of civet coffee has become legendary. Tourists from around the world flock to experience the local specialty, a production method that is difficult to replicate, and exports command high prices. That has led Indonesian coffee farmers to join the tourism boom eagerly, investing heavily in the trade.

After the palm civet eats coffee cherries, it excretes the indigestible seeds. These beans, still covered in droppings, are cleaned and sun-dried, and that is how the invaluable civet coffee is made.

Today, though, truly wild, naturally produced civet coffee is hard to find. Almost all of it comes from wild palm civets kept in cages, usually in poor conditions. A Japanese scientist recently claimed to have invented a way to tell genuine civet coffee from fake. It would be even better if he could devise a method to tell whether beans come from wild or captive palm civets.

Many coffee companies worldwide still use the original story about wild animals' digestive habits as a marketing gimmick. Many claim they collect only 500 kilograms of civet coffee a year, using that scarcity to justify their high prices, as civet coffee typically sells for 200 to 400 US dollars per kilogram and sometimes more. In reality, while exact figures are impossible to obtain, the global annual production of civet coffee is at least 50 tons and possibly far more. Farmers in India, Vietnam, China and the Philippines have now joined the ranks of civet coffee producers too.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For anyone curious about Indonesian coffee, the honest place to start is not civet coffee but Mandheling, and the best route in is Sumatra. Mandheling refers to Arabica from Sumatra, usually processed with the local wet-hulling method: because the parchment is stripped while the beans are still half dry, the green beans are fully exposed to the air while drying, which is what gives the coffee its typical herbal and spice character. FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling comes from the Toba Lake area of the Lintong region, roasted medium-dark to deliver the classic profile: low acidity, full body, caramel, dark chocolate and toast, with a long, sweet finish.

At the top of the range is FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling. PWN buys only high-grade Mandheling lots, and Golden Mandheling is its signature product, selected on density, size, shape and color. Each lot is machine sorted once and hand sorted three times to remove defects, which keeps the beans whole, even and bright and tames the muddy, grassy notes. Freshly roasted, it offers sandalwood, herbs, spice, roasted hazelnut, caramel and dark chocolate, clean, sweet and full, good for everyday drinking and generous enough for a gift.

If you want these flavors through an espresso machine, FrontStreet Coffee's Classic Blend is the answer. It layers medium-dark roasted Mandheling over a creamy Brazilian base, pushing butter, roasted chestnut and caramel forward while Mandheling adds body and sandalwood, herbal and spice notes, with a little Robusta for a richer crema. Latte art and a layered Dirty are both easy with it, and even a beginner can pull an authentic Mandheling-style shot.