What Is Luwak Coffee Made Of and Where Does It Come From?

Authentic Kopi Luwak comes from Indonesia and is made from coffee cherries eaten by the civet, a tree-dwelling animal on Sumatra. The skin, pulp and pectin are broken down in digestion, the parchment layer is not, and the beans are excreted, then washed, sun-dried, deodorized and roasted. Vietnamese versions are usually Robusta sold at far lower prices.

The article compares Vietnamese and Indonesian Kopi Luwak by origin, variety and production method, and notes that luwak coffee origin claims matter because Robusta growing is dominant in Vietnam. It also covers common Vietnamese products, a brewing recipe, the spread of counterfeit lots, and animal welfare concerns in production.

Kopi Luwak has always been regarded as one of the most expensive coffee varieties in the world, with its authentic origin being Indonesia. However, there is quite a lot of affordably priced Vietnamese Kopi Luwak circulating on the market—what exactly is going on? This article will analyze the essential differences between Vietnamese Kopi Luwak and authentic Indonesian Kopi Luwak from the perspectives of origin, variety, and production methods. It will also introduce several common Vietnamese Kopi Luwak products and share Front Street Coffee's brewing parameters and flavor descriptions. In addition, we will discuss the proliferation of counterfeit Kopi Luwak and the animal welfare issues in its production process, helping coffee lovers make more rational choices.

The authentic origin of Kopi Luwak is Indonesia, and it is also one of the highest-priced coffee categories in the world. But on the market, one can see quite a lot of Kopi Luwak produced in Vietnam, sold at fairly affordable prices—what exactly is the reason behind this? Front Street thinks this phenomenon is quite similar to the situation with Blue Mountain coffee. Genuine Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is likewise among the most expensive coffees in the world, with extremely limited production. Precisely because of this, the market is flooded with large quantities of Blue Mountain coffee labeled "Blue Mountain flavor."

Coffee grown in Vietnam is mainly of the Robusta variety. Robusta beans are usually used to make instant coffee and espresso blends, so their cost is not high. Kopi Luwak, whose scientific name is civet coffee, originated in Indonesia. It is the feces excreted by a tree-dwelling wild animal called the "civet" on the island of Sumatra, which is then processed through a series of fine steps such as selection, sun-drying, deodorizing, and roasting. Its price is extremely high, and it can be said to be the most expensive and most unique coffee category at present.

The civet is a species unique to Indonesia, and it actively forages for ripe coffee cherries. In the civet's digestive tract, the skin, pulp, and pectin of the coffee cherry are broken down, but the parchment layer cannot be digested, and the coffee beans are ultimately excreted with the feces. People then wash them clean, dry them, and remove the outer layer, and only then is the entire green bean processing flow complete. After fermentation in the special environment of the civet's stomach, Kopi Luwak beans are endowed with a unique flavor, while bitterness is reduced and body is enhanced. Authentic Kopi Luwak has a mellow mouthfeel and almost no acidity.

It can thus be seen that Vietnamese Kopi Luwak is merely coffee with a Kopi Luwak flavor, not the authentic product, so its price is naturally much lower than that of authentic Kopi Luwak. Vietnam does indeed produce Kopi Luwak, but there is a clear gap in flavor and quality compared with Indonesia's native Kopi Luwak. Indonesia's civets are native local species that, through long-term evolution, feed on locally grown ripe, high-quality coffee cherries and produce Kopi Luwak after in-body fermentation. Vietnam's civets, however, are introduced foreign species and are fed coffee beans by humans rather than having formed through natural evolution, so the degree of human intervention is very high.

Vietnamese Kopi Luwak

(1) Vietnam Trung Nguyen G8 Weasel Coffee

Trung Nguyen created the No. 8 Legend Wild Weasel Coffee, carefully blended from two kinds of highland coffee beans, Robusta and Arabica. It is a special blended coffee.

Speaking of weasel coffee, in Vietnam's Central Highlands there lives a special kind of civet (also called the civet cat). Whenever the coffee plantations are full of fruit, they choose ripe red coffee cherries and eat their fill. The coffee beans are not digested in the weasel's stomach, and enzymes in the digestive tract act on the coffee beans, destroying the protein structure and thereby reducing the coffee's bitterness. The next day, coffee workers collect the coffee beans excreted by the civets based on experience, wash and dry them, and then carefully roast them to make civet coffee.

Weasel coffee has a heavy, full body and is a coffee with a strong, rich flavor. This coffee comes from Vietnam's Trung Nguyen Coffee Company and is made in the traditional Vietnamese way. When tasted, it can be compared with Blue Mountain coffee.

(2) Vietnam Vinacafe Kopi Luwak

Three-in-one instant coffee powder. Although it is an instant product, the taste is quite pure, the mouthfeel is delicate, the sweetness is moderate, and it has a lingering aftertaste. Instant Kopi Luwak is extremely convenient to brew and also tastes good, and this product is very popular with the public.

(3) Vietnam VietGourmet Kopi Luwak

Instant coffee. This coffee tastes very good. After brewing, it has a rich milky aroma and is very fragrant on the palate. It is the top choice for people who prefer a milky aroma flavor.

(4) Vietnam Cat King Golden Kopi Luwak

This is also a three-in-one instant coffee. As soon as you open the bag, you can smell a pungent aroma. It is one of the best-tasting coffees Front Street has ever had—rich, smooth, and aromatic, a typical Vietnamese coffee style.

Vietnamese Kopi Luwak is roughly made up of the above relatively well-known products. If you want to drink authentic Kopi Luwak, you should still buy Indonesian Kopi Luwak beans and grind and brew them yourself.

However, Front Street does not recommend that everyone blindly chase after "Kopi Luwak," because there are many counterfeit products of this kind of coffee, and the current production process of "Kopi Luwak" is also quite cruel. Why is it said that fakes are rampant? Because the civet itself is a rare animal with a small population size and can hardly be domesticated. Civets have a limited food intake, so their natural excrement is not plentiful. In addition, the proportion of usable coffee beans in the excrement is only about 30%. Counting the losses from washing, grinding, and other steps, the annual output of truly authentic "Kopi Luwak" does not exceed 400 kilograms, so it is almost impossible for large quantities of "Kopi Luwak" to be circulating on the market.

Apart from the problem of fakes, today's production process of "Kopi Luwak" is also heartbreaking. At first, "Kopi Luwak" was discovered only after people accidentally found civet excrement, but when people realized the enormous profits contained in it, the civets met with misfortune. They were locked in cages by humans, lost their freedom, and were forced to accept coffee cherries fed to them by humans, beginning a miserable life of producing coffee beans from then on.

In fact, this kind of "Kopi Luwak" produced through captive breeding is almost nothing but a gimmick, because those coffee beans are not selected by the civets themselves but are forced down their throats by humans. Moreover, these animals are naturally shy, timid, and difficult to domesticate. After losing their freedom and living in narrow cages, forced to eat coffee cherries and excrete every day, they become ill, display frenzied behavior such as biting their companions or even self-mutilation, and may ultimately die because of this cruel production method.

Front Street's brewing parameters for Kopi Luwak:

When brewing Kopi Luwak, Front Street uses the KONO dripper, because the only exhaust part of this dripper is at that one-quarter of the ribs. When the water level rises above the rib area, the amount of water in the dripper continues to rise, increasing pressure through the weight of the water. Because the outlet is relatively small, it can extend the contact time between coffee particles and water. As the water flow drives extraction, soluble substances can be extracted more effectively, usually achieving the high-body effect expected by guests.

KONO dripper, 88°C water temperature, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 15g coffee grounds, grind size (75% passing a No. 20 standard sieve), three-stage extraction.

Using staged extraction, first bloom with twice the amount of water as the coffee grounds, that is, 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom. The reason blooming is needed is to let the coffee grounds release internal carbon dioxide gas, thereby making the later stages of extraction more stable. Pour in a small stream in a circular motion until 125 grams, then pause for a stage; continue pouring until 225 grams and stop. After the water in the dripper has dripped through, remove the dripper and start timing from the beginning of pouring; the extraction time is 2 minutes 00 seconds. Next, shake the entire cup of coffee evenly, then pour it into a cup and it is ready to taste.

Kopi Luwak flavor description: herbal, nutty, smooth mouthfeel, full-bodied.

FrontStreet Coffee brewing suggestions:

To brew a delicious cup of coffee, Front Street believes that the freshness of the coffee beans is a very important part of brewing. The coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all within 5 days of the roast date. Front Street's roasting principle is "freshly roasted good coffee," so that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee possible. The resting period for coffee is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it is exactly at its best flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, Front Street kindly reminds you: if the coffee beans have already been ground in advance, there is no need to rest them further, because during transportation the pressure generated by carbon dioxide inside the package can also make the coffee flavor rounder, so once you receive the ground coffee you can immediately brew a cup and drink it. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, because after ground coffee contacts air it oxidizes relatively quickly, which means the coffee's flavor will dissipate relatively quickly and will not be as good. Therefore, Front Street recommends buying whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing, so that you can better taste the coffee's flavor.

As for coffee, Front Street does not recommend that everyone must drink Kopi Luwak. Authentic Kopi Luwak is expensive and rare; and inauthentic ones are even less worth tasting, so you might as well taste coffees from other origins. If you really do not know how to choose, then you can first try Front Street's daily drinking beans. Front Street has eight coffees with flavors from different origins, and their value for money is very high. For example: Front Street Yirgacheffe with floral and fruity notes, Front Street Colombia Huila coffee with low acidity and dark chocolate notes, Front Street Indonesia Mandheling with nutty and pine notes, and Front Street Panama Geisha with citrus and berry notes, and so on.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.