KOPI is the Indonesian word for Coffee. LUWAK is a local name of the Asian Palm Civet. Coffee Luwak is so well-known all over the world and it is believed that the myth of the Kopi/Coffee Luwak in the past makes it fame till now. It started when the coffee plantations massively opened during the reign of the Dutch East Indies until the decade of the 1950s, at which time there was still a lot of Asian Civet in the plantation.
Kopi/Coffee Luwak or Civet Coffee, is coffee made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract. A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Civets also eat small vertebrates, insects, ripe fruits and seeds. Passing through a civet’s intestines the beans are then defecated, having kept their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness, widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world.
Kopi/Coffee Luwak is a name for many specific cultivars and blends of arabica, robusta, liberica, excelsa or other beans eaten by Asian Palm civets (LUWAK), hence the taste can vary greatly. Nonetheless, Kopi/Coffee Luwak coffees have a shared aroma profile and flavor characteristics, along with their lack of bitterness. Kopi Luwak tastes unlike heavy roasted coffees, since roasting levels range only from cinnamon color to medium, with little or no caramelization of sugars within the beans as happens with heavy roasting. Moreover, Kopi/Coffee Luwak which have very smooth profiles are most often given a lighter roast. Iced Kopi/Coffee Luwak brews may bring out some flavors not found in other coffees.
Bali Kopi/Coffee Luwak is the most expensive and rare coffee in the world and only 500 to 700 Kg. are produced per year and selling for between US$ 100 and US$ 600 per pound. It is sold by weight mainly in Japan and the United States and served in Southeast Asian coffeehouses by the cup. The beans are washed out and given only a medium/light roast so as not to destroy the complex flavors that develop through the process.
Kopi/Coffee Luwak or Civet Coffee, is very special for coffee lovers. This Coffee is very popular, even it ever been reported in Oprah Winfrey Show TV program. Coffee lovers around the world declare that the taste of the Kopi/Coffee Luwak is really different and unmatched by other coffees.
Kopi/Coffee Luwak is highly and exclusively sought after as a favorite and it becomes the prime choice around the world because it makes the drinker feels the exotic enjoyment of the tasteful Kopi/Coffee Luwak. They say that the taste and aroma of Kopi/Coffee Luwak creates an extraordinary freshness all over the body of the drinkers.
