The Most Elegant and Expensive Coffee in the world part 1

When it comes to coffee trends there is one that tops all others that you have probably not heard about.  It’s likely you won’t find this blend in your neighborhood coffeehouse. They can go from $80 pound to $1500 per pound! What could this coffee possibly contain for these skyrocketing prices? The flavor and unique source is the main draw to try a cup of these decadent coffees. Here’s the scoop… It comes from predigested coffee fruits eaten by an Indonesian mammal called a Civet. Let’s explore the two varieties that are making a craze amongst the affluent populations around the world. Kopi Iuwak and Black Ivory Coffee. This is part one on Kopi Iuwak produced by the Indonesian Civet.

Kopi Iuwak

Coffee (Kopi) asian palm civet (Luwak)

This coffee is harvested from the Asian nocturnal mammal, called a civet, which eats ripe coffee berries and escorts them through their digestive system to return to the land. Thereby the human comes and harvests the berries from the scat, cleans it and roasts the coffee. This practice has been recorded as far back as the 1600’s, when the Dutch brought Arabic coffee to the Indonesian islands. This digestive process allows for a natural fermentation process to occur, one of the many benefits of this rare and weird coffee extraction method.

Why Civet Scat Coffee?

It seems that after the coffee is digested it has less acidic qualities, therefore less bitter tasting and easier on the stomach. The sweet flavor is the quality most raved about, it is recorded to be very unique and tasty, not like any other coffee, yet it undoubtedly coffee in taste. Intrigued? This curiosity is also a leading reason that folks partake in the tasting of this unique blend.

It is also stated that this particular coffee is extremely beneficial for migraine headaches. We know that coffee is a natural aid for headaches and migraines as well as menstrual cramps due to its vasodilating effects. Those who drink this particular variety of coffee have testified it is even more effective then the average cup of coffee that has not been pre-digested by civet.

In a recent study of Kopi Iuwak (1) it stated that the caffeine levels are in higher concentrates as well as theophylline. Theophylline is a bronchodilator which is effective in helping treat asthma, shortness of breath and lung tightness for example.

How is Kopi Iuwak processed, you ask?

Civets forage for the most red ripened coffee cherries as they crawl through the sumatran jungles. Civets have a varied diet that ranges from ripe fruits to insects, frogs, birds and crabs to name a few. It’s advocated to only participate in consuming Kopi Iuwak coffee from wild Civets, this free range lifestyle provides higher quality of life for the Civet as well as the biodiversity of the jungle and keeps us out of the vicious cycle of unnatural breeding and inhuman domestic raising of wild animals. The harvesting of coffee berries from wild Civets is accessible and provides higher densities of nutrition as well as ensuring the natural enzymatic process that occurs in the Civets digestive tract that this coffee is well known for. The berries are extracted from the Civet scat, thoroughly cleaned, dried and roasted.

~ The price-tag on this coffee looks to be $80/lb to upwards of $600/lb.

Resources:

(1): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36670958/