Coffee culture

Must-Buy Coffee in Indonesia: How to Identify Authentic Civet Coffee - A Complete Guide

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). FrontStreet Coffee - Authenticity identification of civet coffee. As civet coffee becomes valuable, many places in Indonesia have started to cage civets and force-feed them coffee beans. Some people also feed coffee beans to masked palm civets to pass them off as genuine. How to identify authentic civet coffee? The unique flavor characteristics of civet coffee...

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

FrontStreet Coffee - How to Identify Real and Fake Kopi Luwak

With the rising value of Kopi Luwak, many places in Indonesia have started to cage civets and force-feed them coffee beans. Some people also feed coffee beans to civet cats to pass them off as genuine Kopi Luwak.

How to Identify Real Civet Coffee?

Characteristics of Kopi Luwak Flavor:

  1. The unique body odor of the civet cat itself.
  2. The digestive process consumes a large amount of sugar.

The body odor is quite distinctive and can't be replicated. As for the sugar consumption, what flavor impact does it have? With less sugar, there's less bitterness formed during the caramelization process in roasting. Having a special aroma without bitterness makes many people find it delicious. Delicious and rare means expensive.

This is why many people use civet cats to substitute for palm civets to create what they claim is Kopi Luwak.

For authentic civet coffee (Kopi Luwak) raw beans, pay attention to their shape: clean and easily separable.

Summary

Civet cats primarily feed on coffee berries as their main diet during the bean maturation season. After complete digestion, the sugar is consumed, and the beans in the feces lose their stickiness. The coffee beans don't stick together, and once dried, they quickly separate into loosely distributed individual beans.

Knowledge Point

In the early 18th century, Dutch people established coffee plantations in the Indonesian colonies of Sumatra and Java, where mature coffee beans became a favorite food of civet cats.

FrontStreet Coffee's Mission

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a specialized coffee research center that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Additionally, we offer three discounted coffee events each month because FrontStreet Coffee wants to provide the best coffee at the lowest possible price to more friends - this has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past six years!

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