Kopi Luwak – Civet Coffee

There have been a number of theories put forward for the great taste of Kopi Luwak Coffee which connoisseurs around the world claim is the best tasting coffee in the world.

The one with the best scientific rationale was developed at the University of Guelph, where Massimo Marcone performed a study on the coffee in 2004. He concluded that the coffee’s exceptional taste, which drinkers have likened to an earthy combination of dark chocolate, plums and hazelnuts, was due to the enzymes present in the civet cats digestive tract. He found that coffee beans which had been eaten by the civet were harder, more brittle and darker in colour than the same type of coffee bean which hadn’t been eaten and digested.

“The civet beans are lower in total protein, indicating that during digestion, proteins are being broken down and are also leached out of the bean,” said Marcone. “Since proteins are what make coffee bitter during the roasting process, the lower levels of proteins decrease the bitterness of Kopi Luwak coffee.”

The best alternate explanation of the great taste of kopi luwak coffee is that civet cats, which hunt for the coffee cherries at night using smell, are only attracted to the coffee berries which are at optimum ripeness.  As a result, they eat and defecate only the best coffee beans which are then picked by the Indonesian villagers.  This theory seems to be backed up by anecdotal evidence as civet coffee which is produced from ‘farms’ isn’t considered to be as good as that collected from the wild.  The reason for this is that ‘farmed’ civets are fed coffee cherries in all states of ripeness.