Coffee is produced by an evergreen plant species named Coffea canephora, which belongs to the family Rubiaceae. These species are native to Southern Africa and tropical Asia. Coffee is one of the most popular beverages among everyone. It is prepared in many different ways all over the world. Have you ever tried the world’s most expensive coffee product? Go ahead and you will find out more about it.
Figure 1 – Asian Palm Civet which produces ‘Kopi Luwak’
The history of ‘kopi luwak’ runs back to the 1700s when Dutch introduced coffee for the first time in Sumatra and Java. Those days, harvesting coffee was prohibited to people, but they noticed civets eating coffee cherries and leaving coffee beans behind. Then, they started brewing coffee from these beans taken from the discards of civets.
Figure 2 – Coffee beans extracted from civet droppings.
‘Kopi luwak’ can be produced from both free wild civet poop and caged civet poop. Unfortunately, the production of wild civet coffee is labour-intensive, hence most of the coffee is made using caged civet poop, but this process does not happen ethically. They do not maintain proper hygiene, mobility of animals and safety methods in those cages. Civets are shy, nocturnal animals, and foreign visits to coffee plantations disturb their natural behaviours. Also, these caged civets are often fed with coffee cherries as the only diet, which could lead to malnutrition and other health problems. With the rising popularity of coffee, many civets are being removed from the wild and caged to produce large amounts of ‘kopi luwak.’ This would badly affect the interactions between the civets as well.
Figure 3 – Captive civets for kopi luwak production
Now, you know how the world’s most expensive coffee is made. But did you know that it is really hard to separate wild civet coffee from caged civet coffee? The only way to find out is by taste. Caged civet coffee has an inferior taste and acidity while free wild coffee has a better-quality taste. However, if you want to try a cup of this coffee, there are companies that would provide ethical wild civet ‘kopi luwak’. You can try it yourself for an authentic taste of coffee.
Image courtesy – Figure 1 – https://food-contact-surfaces.com/2017/08/worlds-most-expensive-coffee/ Figure 2 – https://www.coffeedesk.com/blog/kopi-luwak-is-it-really-the-best-coffee-in-the-world/ Figure 3- https://news.mongabay.com/2016/05/worlds-expensive-coffee-often-produced-caged-abused-civets-study-finds/ References – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/160429-kopi-luwak-captive-civet-coffee-Indonesia https://coffeeaffection.com/kopi-luwak/ World’s most expensive coffee often produced from caged, abused civets, study finds
‘Kopi Luwak’ is the most expensive coffee which is made from a unique natural fermentation method. A cup of this coffee usually costs approximately $30- $100. As you can see, it is way more expensive than an average coffee.
When the coffee cherries are eaten by Asian Palm Civets, they are partially digested by the digestive enzymes found in the civets’ digestive systems. This causes a change in the protein structure of coffee beans and reduces acidity, which ultimately helps to make a smooth cup of coffee. During the process, workers in coffee plantations handpick the lightly fermented coffee beans from the droppings. These beans are cleaned, dried, and roasted at the end. Roasting helps to develop the aroma, colour and flavour of the coffee.
Featured image – https://thursdaydinners.com/all-you-need-to-know-about-kopi-luwak-coffee/