Kopi Luwak

Today, HR was telling us about kopi luwak, which is a gourmet coffee from Indonesia.  It is made from partially-digested coffee cherries that are eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet.  The defecated coffee cherries are then collected, washed, and roasted.  Producers of the coffee beans argue that this process of digestion and defecation actually improves the quality and taste of the coffee through both selection and digestion.

The fact that the Asian palm civet, or luwak, a nocturnal catlike animal, will choose only the ripest and most flawless coffee cherries to eat ensures that the coffee beans are of the highest quality.  The biological and chemical mechanisms in the luwak’s digestive tract alter the coffee beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids and reducing the beans’ bitterness through malting germination.  Kopi (the Indonesian word for “coffee”) luwak is more of a gimmick or fad coffee rather than being known for its exquisite taste, but it is still one of the most expensive coffees in the world with a retail price of $700 per kilogram.

This got me to thinking.  If horses are valued based on their bloodlines and heritage, then are luwaks also valued for the quality of the coffee that they produce?  Are there domesticated luwaks out there being force-fed coffee cherries laced with laxatives to speed up production?  Are luwak babies bought based on who their sire was with the hope and anticipation that they will defecate high-quality coffee too?

In all honesty, while defecated coffee beans might sound completely disgusting to you, I’m not actually bothered by this.  As far as I’m concerned, this is no different than regular coffee in taste and style.  All coffee is crappuccino, no matter where it comes from.  So, you can keep your Poopi Kopi, and I’ll wake up the old-fashioned way…with a shower and a hot meal.