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.
Kopi luwak (pronounced [ˈkopi 'luak]) 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.
Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then decaffeinated, 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 expensivecoffee in the world.
Kopi luwak is produced on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi in the
Indonesian Archipelago, in the Philippines (where the product is called motit
coffee in the Cordillera and kape alamid in Tagalog areas) and also in East Timor
(where it is called kafé-laku).
Weasel coffee is a loose English translation of its name in Vietnam where popular,
chemically simulated versions are also produced.
Kopi is the Indonesian word for coffee.
Luwak is a local name of the Asian palm civet in Sumatra.
Palm civets are primarily frugivorous, feeding on berries and pulpy fruits such as from
ficus trees and palms.
Civets also eat smallvertebrates, insects, ripe fruits and seeds.
When coffee plants are put into civet habitats, the civets forage on only the ripest
and sweetest berries.
Hence, farmers would often find their best coffee berries missing in the morning after
civets had been feeding and they were seen as pests.
Meanwhile farmers hoping to save their crop gathered the civet droppings
and found these beans, which were darkened and more brittle, yielded a coffee
with unusual taste and lack of bitterness.Research by food scientist
Massimo Marcone at the University of Guelph in Ontario,
Canada showed that the civet's endogenous digestive secretions seep into the beans.
These secretions carry proteolytic enzymes which break down the beans' proteins,
yielding shorter peptides and more free amino acids.
Since the flavor of coffee owes much to its proteins, there is a hypothesis
that this shift in the numbers and kinds of proteins in beans after being swallowed
by civets brings forth their unique flavor.
The proteins are also involved in non-enzymatic Maillard browning reactions
brought about later by roasting.
Moreover, whilst inside a civet the beans begin to germinate by malting which also
lowers their bitterness.
In November 2006 Herveys Range Heritage Tea Rooms, a small cafe
in the hills outside Townsville in Queensland, Australia,
put kopi luwak coffee on its menu at AUD50.00 (US $33.00) a cup,
selling about seven cups a week, which gained nationwide Australian
and international press.
In April 2008 the brasserie at Peter Jones department store
in London's Sloane Square began selling a blend of kopi luwak
and Blue Mountain called Caffe Raro for £50 (US $99.00) a cup.
from forbes.com (US $160 per pound).
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.
Kopi luwak (pronounced [ˈkopi 'luak]) 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.
Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then decaffeinated, 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 expensivecoffee in the world.
Kopi luwak is produced on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi in the
Indonesian Archipelago, in the Philippines (where the product is called motit
coffee in the Cordillera and kape alamid in Tagalog areas) and also in East Timor
(where it is called kafé-laku).
Weasel coffee is a loose English translation of its name in Vietnam where popular,
chemically simulated versions are also produced.
Kopi is the Indonesian word for coffee.
Luwak is a local name of the Asian palm civet in Sumatra.
Palm civets are primarily frugivorous, feeding on berries and pulpy fruits such as from
ficus trees and palms.
Civets also eat smallvertebrates, insects, ripe fruits and seeds.
When coffee plants are put into civet habitats, the civets forage on only the ripest
and sweetest berries.
Hence, farmers would often find their best coffee berries missing in the morning after
civets had been feeding and they were seen as pests.
Meanwhile farmers hoping to save their crop gathered the civet droppings
and found these beans, which were darkened and more brittle, yielded a coffee
with unusual taste and lack of bitterness.Research by food scientist
Massimo Marcone at the University of Guelph in Ontario,
Canada showed that the civet's endogenous digestive secretions seep into the beans.
These secretions carry proteolytic enzymes which break down the beans' proteins,
yielding shorter peptides and more free amino acids.
Since the flavor of coffee owes much to its proteins, there is a hypothesis
that this shift in the numbers and kinds of proteins in beans after being swallowed
by civets brings forth their unique flavor.
The proteins are also involved in non-enzymatic Maillard browning reactions
brought about later by roasting.
Moreover, whilst inside a civet the beans begin to germinate by malting which also
lowers their bitterness.
In November 2006 Herveys Range Heritage Tea Rooms, a small cafe
in the hills outside Townsville in Queensland, Australia,
put kopi luwak coffee on its menu at AUD50.00 (US $33.00) a cup,
selling about seven cups a week, which gained nationwide Australian
and international press.
In April 2008 the brasserie at Peter Jones department store
in London's Sloane Square began selling a blend of kopi luwak
and Blue Mountain called Caffe Raro for £50 (US $99.00) a cup.
from forbes.com (US $160 per pound).
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