Kopi Luwak…so What’s the Story?
Dubbed the costliest coffee on earth, Kopi Luwak has one of the most fascinating roots.
Dating back to the Dutch colonial era of Indonesia in the 18th century, Kopi Luwak originated when coffee plantations were established on the islands of Java and Sumatra, also known as the Dutch East Indies. Local farmers were hired to plant coffee that produced Arabica beans, though they were forbidden from consuming them. They soon discovered that luwaks (Asian palm civets) were damaging the coffee plants by eating its best cherries but that the beans were not digested and still intact in their droppings.
Curious for a taste, the plantation workers picked up the excreted beans these luwaks left behind, cleaned and roasted them in secret and discovered coffee that was beyond their imagination with the most exquisite aromas. It was later understood that the unique, exotic flavor came from enzymes in the luwaks’ stomachs that percolated into the beans.
Word spread quickly about the distinctive taste that came from these excreted beans and the coffee was aptly named “Kopi Luwak,” Civet coffee in Indonesian.
I have researched and it seems this type of coffee is poorly regulated for humane practices. What steps does your company perform to ensure it is indeed 100% wild?
Hello! Thank you for your message! Our Kopi Luwak is from Aceh region in northern Sumatra Island and our Kopi Luwak beans are specifically collected by the farmers of our Aceh Gayo beans as civil cats live on the same mountain. The farmers normally focus on growing Aceh Gayo coffee but they go up higher in the mountain in the early mornings to collect droppings of the cats as a part-time task. Our partners (as well as our Chief Coffee Roaster) have visited the farm a couple of times and spend a week each time to visit the farms, speak to the farmers and go through all the processing with the farmers including the collection of Kopi Luwak beans to ensure that the farmers actually collect wild droppings and not getting involved with any caged farmers. We are also strong advocates of against animal cruelty and it’s important to us as well that our Kopi Luwak is from a pure wild source. Hope this answers your question and please let us know if you have any further questions.