Kopi luwak

The history

The most extraordinary, talked-about and (on average) expensive co ee is grown in Indonesia by rather peculiar means and processes. The main islands involved in this type of processing are Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi. The coffee itself bears the name of its main producer: ‘Kopi’ translates as ‘coffee’, whereas ‘Luwak’ translates as ‘civet’, particularly Palm civet. The latter is a small carnivore animal similar to a wild Asian cat. Luwaks that are not grown in captivity naturally feed on co ee beans as well as small insects, small mammals, eggs and small-sized reptiles. Out of all these foods, the civet is unable to digest the inner core of coffee beans. This causes the enzymes to concentrate entirely on their outer layer, thereby eliminating every hint of bitterness and providing the beans with distinctive hints of chocolate and caramel as well as an unrivalled body. The foam is darkish in colour yet not greyish as in some Robusta coffees. The aroma is noticeably cocoa-like with smells of toast to the nose. The taste is noticeably full bodied with a distinctive hint of sweetness on the tip of the tongue.