I will try to clarify all about this unique Kopi Luwak coffee. Kopi Luwak coffee strange process makes people talk, but in most cases without true knowledge of its origin and process. As the creator of the brand “Al’s Original Coffees” and “Real Kopi Luwak”, I will invite you to have a look into this website so that you can learn in a pleasant and graphical way all about the famous Kopi Luwak Coffee. From Indonesian language Kopi = Coffee and Luwak = Asian Palm Civet, also called Civet Coffee, Luwak Coffee or “Cat poop coffee”.
What is Kopi Luwak or Luwak Coffee?
It’s a gourmet coffee made from the ripest coffee berries which has been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of this animal (Paradoxurus Hermaphroditus). The civets eat the berries but the beans inside them pass through their system undigested. The Luwak graciously deposits them on the jungle floor where they are eagerly collected by the local coffee farmers. This process takes place only on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi and Bali in the Indonesian Archipelago. Kopi Luwak Coffee is the most expensive and rare coffee in the world and only 500 to 700 Kg. are produced per year. 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.
History
In colonial times in Indonesia (1602 – 1945), the Dutchmen don’t allow local farmers to consume the coffee harvested in “their” plantations so, they collect the beans found in the floor (the civet pooh) and finally realize that the coffee made with them taste better than the normal one.
My Personal Challenge
I have never imagined I was going to turn into a coffee expert and particularly an expert on the scarce and expensive Kopi Luwak until one day my sister-in-law, who knows that I live in Bali Island, Indonesia, asked me about a rare coffee, which is only made in Indonesia and is the most expensive coffee in the world. She asked me to find it and send it to her to Spain so she can try it with her husband and friends.
After investigating a bit, I found a coffee store where Kopi Luwak coffee was sold in the quantity of 8 grams –just enough for one cup of coffee- for the incredible amount of 22 US dollars. Therefore, I found out that Kopi Luwak Coffee was really much more expensive than an ordinary coffee.
Along my investigation, I realized that almost nobody knows about Kopi Luwak, even in Indonesia, the country where it is made. All about it called my attention so I started to contact suppliers and stores to buy Kopi Luwak green beans but at a better price. At the same time, I started to look for information on the Net and I started to know more and more about coffee. As a coffee lover, soon I found information about “single origin coffees”. This term makes reference to the type of coffee grown in any area of the world but which has different characteristics from other types of coffee due to different climate conditions, soil, height and sun effects. As an example of single origin coffees, I can mention Jamaica Blue Mountain, which is the second most expensive coffee after Kopi Luwak, Ethiopia, Hawaii, Colombia, Indonesia and Guatemala among others.
The more producers I contacted, the more I realized that around Kopi Luwak industry there is a lot of fraud. Some producers said that they had the most inexpensive Kopi Luwak, others said that they were the only ones who have it or have the purest one. I bought samples of each producer and finally I found out that they were not offering me the real Kopi Luwak. As this coffee is very expensive, many unscrupulous people mix or fake it and the final result is totally different from the original, including the price.
Finally, I reached the conclusion that the only way to have the authentic Kopi Luwak caoffee was first to obtain the raw material from the plantations and second, to process and roast it by myself. After many tests, I could obtain the real Kopi Luwak. The idea was that If I personally check the product along all the steps of production (with Luwak’s permission, of course), I could finally obtain the most genuine Kopi Luwak. Therefore, I bought a digital coffee roaster from the USA and I started to go around the coffee areas and I found a coffee farmers cooperative, which had the original product. After many roasting tests, process by which the coffee beans obtain taste, aroma and body (see coffee glossary), I finally could obtain a delicious and unique gourmet Kopi Luwak coffee. As soon as I could, I gave it to my friends and to several coffee experts on single origin coffees. All of them are fascinated with this unique Kopi Luwak.
From this website, I would like to encourage you to try the Real Kopi Luwak or to learn about both Kopi Luwak and its process.
Thanks.
Written by: Alberto Taphanel Souto
Al’s Original Coffees
Copyright ©2009 Alberto Taphanel
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