The Kopi Luwak Story
Kopi
Luwak are robusta or arabica coffee beans which have been eaten by and
passed through the digestive tract of the Common Palm Civet.
This process takes place on the islands of Sumatra, Java and
Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago.
"Kopi" is the Indonesian
word for coffee and "Luwak" is local name of this animal which eats
the raw red coffee 'cherries' as part of its usual diet. This animal
eats a mixed diet of insects, small mammals and fruits along with
the softer outer part of the coffee cherry but does not digest the
inner beans, instead excreting them still covered in some inner
layers of the cherry.
Locals then gather the
beans -- which come through the 'animal stage' fairly intact -- and
sell them on to dealers. It is believed that enzymes in the stomach
of the civet add to the coffee's flavour through fermentation of
some type.
Like true
coffee addicts, the guys over at Forbes have scoured the
globe looking for
the most expensive coffees in the world.
Starting
off the list at $160 per pound is Kopi Luwak, this is
followed by Hacienda La Esmeralda (Panama, $104/lb), Island of St.
Helena Coffee Company ($79/lb), El Injerto (Guatemala, $25-50/lb),
Fazenda Santa Ines (Brazil, $50/lb), Jamaica Blue Mountain ($49/lb),
Los Planes (El Salvador, $40/lb), Kona ($34/lb), Starbucks Rwanda
Blue Bourbon ($24/lb), Yauco Selecto AA (Puerto Rico, $22/lb),
Fazenda Sao Benedito (Brazil, $21/lb).
The resulting coffee is
said to be like no other. It has a rich, heavy flavour with hints of
caramel or chocolate. Other terms used to describe it are earthy,
musty and exotic. The body is almost syrupy and it's very smooth.
