How Is Kopi Luwak Made and How Should It Be Brewed?
Kopi Luwak is made from coffee cherries that a civet eats and then excretes; the beans are collected from the animal's droppings and only then washed, dried, roasted and ground. Digestive enzymes break down proteins in the beans, which producers say leaves a richer aroma and less bitterness, though the yield is small and prices stay high.
In the Philippines, civet coffee sells for about 3,500 pesos per kilogram, with bottled retail near 450 pesos per 100 grams, enough for roughly 12 cups. Brewing advice for authentic Indonesian luwak calls for 88-92C water, a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, a medium-fine grind and a slow pour.
Kopi Luwak is hailed as a premium coffee, and its production method is truly unique—the coffee cherries must first pass through the digestive tract of the civet, and then be collected from its excrement before being processed. This special process causes the proteins in the coffee beans to be broken down, resulting in a richer aroma and less bitterness when roasted, but the yield is scarce and the price is high. This article will guide you through the processing characteristics and production flow of Kopi Luwak, and share the brewing essentials for authentic Indonesian cat poop coffee, so you can savor this legendary flavor at home.
The production of premium coffee Kopi Luwak:
The processing method of Kopi Luwak is quite special. All the beans used to make the coffee must first be eaten by the civet before entering the formal grinding and roasting stages. The coffee beans are absorbed and digested through the civet's intestines, then excreted, and only after that do they enter subsequent production. Coffee made through this special method sells at a high price—currently 3,500 pesos per kilogram (about 64 USD), with bottled retail at 450 pesos per 100 grams, enough to brew 12 cups of coffee.
The civet is a short-legged carnivore, with an estimated 15-20 species worldwide. They are mainly distributed in Africa, southern Europe, and Asia.
According to Reyes, the person in charge of the manufacturer producing Kopi Luwak, during the civet's digestion process, the proteins in the coffee beans are broken down into small molecules, making the beans more aromatic when roasted. In addition, some proteins are completely filtered out in the civet's intestines, thereby reducing the coffee's bitterness. In fact, researchers also suspect whether the civet, by wolfing down these coffee beans, can thoroughly break down the proteins in the beans. However, they also found that the process of the coffee beans passing through the civet's digestive tract is very similar to the wet processing method used to ferment coffee.
Front Street Coffee suggests that when brewing authentic Indonesian cat poop coffee, the water temperature should be controlled between 88-92°C, with a coffee-to-water ratio of about 1:15, using a medium-fine grind and slowly pouring water for extraction, in order to fully bring out its unique sweetness and richness.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
