Kopi Luwak: Scoop of Poop

By Daphne Tan

Staying in Jakarta for nearly 4 years, I’ve not tried the world’s most expensive coffee, the Luwak Coffee or Kopi Luwak in Bahasa Indonesia. Kopi Luwak happens to be produced in Indonesia, mainly in the islands of Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java and Bali. Every time I passed by a Kopi Luwak cafe in Jakarata, I felt like testing it but never did. Why? Because this unique coffee is actually the poop of this mammal called civet or luwak. It looks like a black cat with a long furry tail.

The civet (luwak)

The civet will eat the best coffee berries, and the berries will be processed through its digestive system before it poops out as coffee beans. The farmers will collect these defecated beans and the coffee beans are roasted in a traditional way without any machines. This is the reason why Kopi Luwak is believed to be the best quality coffee and sold at a very high price. You’re probably wondering how I know all these facts.

Recently I went to Bali with a few friends for a short getaway. We went to this small farm that not only plants Kopi Luwak beans but other coffee related plants like Vanilla, Cinnamon and Cocoa. These spices will certainly add flavors to all types of coffee.

Here are some photos I would like to share with you taken on my recent trip to Bali.

The coffee trees

The coffee berries

Coffee beans and roasted coffee beans (black), vanilla and cinnamon

We saw a lady roasting the coffee beans over wood fire for hours and pound them with a mortar and pestle. She brought us the coffee powder, and the aroma was irresistible.

Roasting coffee beans over wood fire

Pounding the roasted coffee into coffee powder

The coffee promoter brought us samples of different coffee and tea with beautiful colors! But the best coffee could not be tasted for free.

Free samples

Remembering the aroma of the roasted Kopi Luwak powder, and knowing the fact of how difficult it was produced, we bought the world’s most expensive coffee without hesitation. It’s USD25 for a mere 50g! Finally, I tasted the Kopi Luwak. Well, there’s always a first time for everything and I appreciated that moment.