Benefits and Effects of Kopi Luwak: Differences Between Kopi Luwak Beans and Regular Coffee Beans and Why It's So Expensive

Understanding Kopi Luwak: The World's Most Expensive Coffee

Many people have heard of Kopi Luwak, but few have actually tasted it because it is extremely expensive—it's one of the most expensive coffees in the world. Some might be put off by the name, thinking it's unclean and not worth drinking. In reality, Kopi Luwak originates from Indonesia and is one of the world's most luxurious coffees. Its original name is actually civet coffee.

Why Is It Called Kopi Luwak?

Kopi Luwak was first discovered in the early 18th century during Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia, when coffee plantations were established in Sumatra and Java to supply the European market. The Dutch colonizers prohibited locals from picking and consuming coffee fruits. Despite this, Indonesian locals wanted to taste the coffee they cultivated. During this time, coffee plantation workers noticed that the coffee fruits they grew were often stolen by local civets, which have an extremely keen sense of smell and would select only the most fragrant, sweet, and fully ripe red coffee fruits. However, the civet's digestive system cannot digest the fruits, so even though they eat coffee fruits, they excrete them completely intact.

Civets only eat the ripest and sweetest coffee beans, making production extremely scarce. Additionally, only the civets from Sumatra can produce Kopi Luwak—civets from other parts of the world cannot. This is why Kopi Luwak commands such a high price.

Meanwhile, local Indonesians who cultivated coffee trees began collecting the coffee fruits excreted by civets, cleaning and roasting them. Upon tasting, they discovered it was more delicious than ordinary Sumatran coffee beans, with a richer, more mellow flavor. This is the origin story of Kopi Luwak.

Kopi Luwak is produced in Indonesia and is one of the world's most expensive coffees, even pricier than Blue Mountain coffee. It is also known as civet coffee. Those unfamiliar with Kopi Luwak might assume it tastes unpleasant or is unclean. In reality, the processing method for civet coffee involves allowing the civet to eat ripe coffee fruits, which are then digested and fermented in its body before being excreted. Because this fermentation occurs within a biological system, the taste differs slightly from regular coffee. However, fundamentally, it's no different from ordinary coffee. Moreover, modern artificial civet coffee production methods pursue quantity by continuously feeding civets coffee fruits and keeping them in cages, which changes the nature of the product.

What Does Kopi Luwak Taste Like?

Kopi Luwak is produced in Indonesia, so its flavor naturally carries notes of nuts, pine, and herbal tones. Indonesian Sumatran coffee beans have always been known for their mellow richness. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee features distinctive herbal and earthy flavors. The coffee fruits consumed by civets come from plants with similar flavor profiles to Mandheling. After fermentation within the animal's body, these beans develop an additional fermented flavor note compared to Indonesian Mandheling coffee beans. Similar fermented flavors can also be achieved through natural processing methods. As for why Kopi Luwak is considered delicious, the key actually lies in the inherent flavor of the coffee beans themselves.

To put it simply, FrontStreet Coffee would describe Kopi Luwak's flavor as Mandheling with fermented notes. Its expensive price comes from wild civets using their sensitive sense of smell to select the most delicious coffee fruits for internal fermentation. This processing method is particularly unique, production is extremely scarce, and thus the price is high.

What's the Difference Between Kopi Luwak and Regular Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee believes that Kopi Luwak and regular coffee are essentially the same—both are coffee, and their effects are identical. Coffee can boost our metabolism, thereby enhancing muscle performance during exercise. Additionally, the caffeine in coffee can make us more alert and improve endurance performance. Coffee also has diuretic properties—if you experience facial edema, you can reduce it by drinking Americano coffee. Many celebrities enjoy drinking a cup of Americano to maintain their facial condition. However, drinking too much coffee can easily cause palpitations, and the elderly and people with high blood pressure are advised not to drink excessive amounts.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Parameters for Kopi Luwak

To better express the herbal flavors and rich mouthfeel of Kopi Luwak, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters use medium-dark roast for Kopi Luwak beans. Medium-dark roasted beans generally have higher dehydration rates, making them lighter in weight. During brewing, the grounds don't completely sink to the bottom initially—they absorb water immediately upon first pour. Due to vigorous degassing, bubbles form around the grounds, creating channels. These channels persist longer with fresher beans, causing the water level to drop rapidly. FrontStreet Coffee typically uses a coarse water flow and slow circular pouring.

When brewing Kopi Luwak, FrontStreet Coffee chooses the KONO dripper because this dripper's only venting area is the one-quarter rib section. When the water level rises above the rib section, the water in the dripper continues to increase, building pressure through the water's weight. Since the outlet is relatively smaller, it can extend the contact time between coffee particles and water. As the water flow moves, it can more effectively extract soluble substances, generally achieving the high richness expected by customers.

FrontStreet Coffee's store brewing parameters for Blue Mountain No. 1 are: KONO dripper, 88°C water temperature, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 15g coffee grounds, grind size (75% pass-through rate on #20 standard sieve), three-stage extraction.

Using segmented extraction, bloom with twice the amount of water as the coffee grounds (30g of water for 30 seconds). The blooming process is necessary to allow the coffee grounds to release internal carbon dioxide, making the subsequent extraction more stable. With small circular pours, segment when reaching 125g, then continue pouring to 225g and stop. Once the water has completely dripped through the dripper, remove it. Time from the beginning of pouring: 2'00". Next, pick up the entire pot of coffee, shake it well, then pour into cups for tasting.

Kopi Luwak flavor description: Herbal, nutty, smooth mouthfeel, rich and mellow.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations

To brew a delicious cup of coffee, FrontStreet Coffee believes that coffee bean freshness is a crucial element in brewing. The coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days. FrontStreet's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted quality coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee possible. The optimal resting period for coffee is around 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at its peak flavor.

For those who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee kindly reminds you: pre-ground coffee doesn't require additional resting time, because the pressure from carbon dioxide buildup in the package during shipping can help round out the coffee's flavor. Therefore, you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly because it oxidizes quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee's flavor will dissipate more rapidly and won't be as good. That's why FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding them fresh before brewing to better experience the coffee's flavor.

When it comes to coffee, you don't necessarily have to drink Kopi Luwak—FrontStreet Coffee believes there are many coffee options to choose from. For example: Ethiopian coffee with its floral and fruity notes, Colombian coffee with its fruity acidity and dark chocolate flavors, Indonesian Mandheling coffee with its nutty and pine notes, Panama Geisha coffee with its citrus and berry tones, and more. If you're really unsure how to choose, you can try FrontStreet's daily coffee beans. FrontStreet offers eight different coffee flavors from various origins, offering excellent value.

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

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473