EKopiLuwak.com is proud to bring you Kopi Luwak,  the very best  coffee on the planet. For centuries, known to the most sophisticated of pallets, Kopi Luwak Coffee, also known as civet coffee, is now available to you via eKopiLuwak.com. In no other coffee can you find the scintillating flavor and overall enjoyment that this unique coffee has to offer. Every cup you brew, every sip you take; takes you back to the moment you enjoyed your first coffee-induced sigh of utter bliss. Mmm... is what will course through your body as you dive into a warm, aromatic cup of this civet coffee!

How do you make the best coffee in the world? It begins with an Asian Palm Civet on an exotic island and ends with a smooth, flavorful coffee. Oh, and one more thing – a great story.

Kopi Luwak Coffee, also known as Civet Coffee, is considered by many coffee connoisseurs to be the best tasting coffee in the world. It is also the rarest and most expensive coffee due to its, let’s say, unique development process. It is this stranger than fiction process that lies at the heart of the Kopi Luwak story and imbues this coffee with an exquisite taste that can be created in no other way. It is no wonder that this matchless gourmet coffee, with a little civet assistance, has captured the attention of journalists and coffee lovers alike around the world.

The journey of the world’s most unique coffee begins in the temperate climates of Indonesia. Several of its major islands - Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi – play host to the Kopi Luwak industry along with growing industries in the Philippines, East Timor and Vietnam where the product is called “Weasel Coffee.”

What will eventually become a $50 cup of coffee begins with a bright red berry and a hungry Asian Palm Civet. The red berry is called a coffee berry, and it holds a ripe coffee bean at its center. An Asian Palm Civet is a furry feline-like creature native to Southeast Asia and Southern China. The Asian Palm Civet has been alternatively described as both a weasel and a cat, though it belongs to an entirely different family of animal (Paradoxurus hermaphrodites). The most important feature of the Asian Palm Civet, at least for the purposes of this essay, is its particular affection for coffee berries. Asian Palm Civets simply love them, and this civet-coffee bean romance is one of the best things that ever happened to the world of coffee.

To create Kopi Luwak, an Asian Palm Civet eats a coffee berry, and something very strange and wonderful (and utterly natural) happens. The coffee bean passes through the animal’s digestive tract, making it out to the other side unharmed but irreconcilably changed for the better. Researchers and foodies alike have put significant brainpower into figuring out what exactly happens to that little coffee bean as it travels through the stomach of its furry host. The data suggests that the coffee bean gets a car wash of sorts in the complex chemical enzymes that play a part in digestion. These enzymes break down the protein components of the coffee bean. Protein is known to make coffee bitter, thus this Indonesian Coffee is especially prized for its smooth taste. There are other unique flavorful notes in a cup of Kopi Luwak Coffee that aficionados are hard pressed to describe. Whatever really happens inside that Asian Palm Civet, it hasn’t given up all its secrets yet, which is why no man made process has been able so far to duplicate the taste of Civet Coffee. 

The Asian Palm Civet not only freely donates its impressive digestive powers to the Kopi Luwak process, it also helps ensure a high quality product by choosing the best coffee berries whenever possible. The Asian Palm Civet is a discerning eater when allowed, and picking the ripest coffee berries also means choosing the ripest coffee beans inside the berries.  This is one of the most impressive, yet darwinistically obvious circumstance that makes this gourmet coffee so special.

Our little coffee bean, now civet-enhanced, passes through the Asian Palm Civet’s digestive tract intact but forever chemically altered for the better. Hidden within a not-so-pleasant excretion, the coffee bean is now a jewel ready to be discovered and very thoroughly cleaned by coffee ranchers.  After a little sun drying, the coffee bean is ready to be sold and slowly roasted with its companion beans into its final form – the best and rarest cup of coffee in the world.

The Kopi Luwak industry is small but growing. Asian Palm Civets can only eat so many coffee berries at a time, so the beans are in rare supply and thus fetch a high price at luxury cafes and retail locations. Most of the coffee beans are cultivated on civet farms where the animals are allowed to roam within wide borders, dining on the finest coffee berries available and thereby producing the highest quality beans. Coffee ranchers collect and clean the droppings and sell them to an increasingly receptive audience.

While it’s still not likely that you’ll be able to order a cup of Kopi Luwak coffee at your corner coffee shop, Kopi Luwak Coffee is making its way into more retail and food establishments in the United States, Europe and Japan.  The majority of the market remains in Asian countries. Online retailers are also beginning to service customers, allowing anyone anywhere to gather their courage and take a sip. 

This Civet Coffee is being embraced by the luxury market. At $300 a pound or more, Kopi Luwak is truly for the discerning customer. Some critics accuse Kopi Luwak of being all hype – a good story and nothing more. True coffee connoisseurs, however, know that Kopi Luwak has earned its title as the best coffee in the world. No matter where it comes from, the taste speaks for itself, and that’s why Kopi Luwak continues to sell at a rapid pace despite its high price.

Coffee is one of the most chemically complex foods in the world, and when an Asian Palm Civet meets the coffee berry of its dreams, a little chemical magic happens. The product of their affair just happens to be a great cup of coffee that the world is learning to love.