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umatran kopi lu!ak farmer sho!s "eans prior to cleaning and roasting, umatra
Kopi luwak (pronounced [kopi 'luak]) or civet coffee is coffee made from the
"eans of coffee "erries !hich have "een eaten "y the #sian $alm %ivet (Paradoxurus
hermaphroditus) and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract& #
civet eats the "erries for their fleshy pulp& 'n its stomach, proteolytic en(ymes seep
into the "eans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids& $assing through a
civet's intestines the "eans are then defecated, having kept their shape& #fter
gathering, thorough !ashing, sun drying, light roasting and "re!ing, these "eans yield
an aromatic coffee !ith much less "itterness, !idely noted as the most expensive
coffee in the !orld&
)opi lu!ak is produced on the islands of umatra, Java, *ali and ula!esi in the
'ndonesian #rchipelago, in the $hilippines (!here the product is called motit coffee
in the %ordillera and kape alamid in +agalog areas) and also in ,ast +imor (!here it
is called kaf-laku)& Weasel coffee is a loose ,nglish translation of its name in
-ietnam !here popular, chemically simulated versions are also produced&
Contents
.hide/
0 *ackground
1 $roduction
2 %ultivars, "lends and tastes
3 Research
o 3&0 afety
4 ,conomics
o 4&0 ales "y the cup
5 imulated civet coffee
6 )opi muncak
7 References
8 ,xternal links
[edit] Background
9oung #sian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus)
Kopi is the 'ndonesian !ord for coffee& Luwak is a local name of the #sian palm civet
in umatra& $alm civets are primarily frugivorous, feeding on "erries and pulpy fruits
such as from ficus trees and palms& %ivets also eat small verte"rates, insects, ripe
fruits and seeds&
.0/
&
When coffee plants are put into civet ha"itats, the civets forage on only the ripest and
s!eetest "erries& :ence, farmers !ould often find their "est coffee "erries missing in
the morning after civets had "een feeding and they !ere seen as pests& ;ean!hile
farmers hoping to save their crop gathered the civet droppings and found these "eans,
!hich !ere darkened and more "rittle, yielded a coffee !ith unusual taste and lack of
"itterness&
[edit] Production
,arly production "egan !hen "eans !ere gathered in the !ild from !here a civet
!ould defecate as a means to mark its territory& <n farms, civets are either caged or
allo!ed to roam !ithin defined "oundaries&
%offee "erries are eaten "y a civet for their fruit pulp& #fter spending a"out a day and
a half in the civet's digestive tract
.1/
the "eans are then defecated in clumps, having
kept their shape and still covered !ith some of the fleshy "erry's inner layers& +hey
are gathered, thoroughly !ashed, sun dried and given only a light roast so as to keep
the many intert!ined flavors and lack of "itterness yielded inside the civet&
[edit] Cultivars, blends and tastes
)opi lu!ak is a name for many specific cultivars and "lends of ara"ica, ro"usta,
li"erica, excelsa or other "eans eaten "y civets, hence the taste can vary greatly&
=onetheless, kopi lu!ak coffees have a shared aroma profile and flavor
characteristics, along !ith their lack of "itterness& %offee critic %hris Ru"in has said,
>+he aroma is rich and strong, and the coffee is incredi"ly full "odied, almost syrupy&
't?s thick !ith a hint of chocolate, and lingers on the tongue !ith a long, clean
aftertaste&>
.1/
)opi lu!ak tastes unlike heavy roasted coffees, since roasting levels range only from
cinnamon color to medium, !ith little or no carameli(ation of sugars !ithin the "eans
as happens !ith heavy roasting& ;oreover, kopi lu!aks !hich have very smooth
profiles are most often given a lighter roast& 'ced kopi lu!ak "re!s may "ring out
some flavors not found in other coffees&
umatra is the !orld's largest regional producer of kopi lo!ak& umatran civet coffee
"eans are mostly an early ara"ica variety cultivated in the 'ndonesian archipelago
since the seventeenth century& +agalog cafe alamid (or alamid cafe) comes from civets
fed on a mixture of coffee "eans and is sold in the *atangas region along !ith gift
shops near airports in the $hilippines&
[edit] esearc!
@efecated lu!ak coffee "erries, ,ast Java
Research "y food scientist ;assimo ;arcone at the Aniversity of Buelph in <ntario,
%anada sho!ed that the civet's endogenous digestive secretions seep into the "eans&
+hese secretions carry proteolytic en(ymes !hich "reak do!n the "eans' proteins,
yielding shorter peptides and more free amino acids& ince the flavor of coffee o!es
much to its proteins, there is a hypothesis that this shift in the num"ers and kinds of
proteins in "eans after "eing s!allo!ed "y civets "rings forth their uniCue flavor& +he
proteins are also involved in nonDen(ymatic ;aillard "ro!ning reactions "rought
a"out later "y roasting& ;oreover, !hilst inside a civet the "eans "egin to germinate
"y malting !hich also lo!ers their "itterness&
.2/.3/.1/
[edit] "afet#
#t the outset of his research ;arcone dou"ted the safety of kopi lu!ak& :o!ever, he
found that after the thorough !ashing, levels of harmful organisms !ere insignificant&
Roasting at high temperature has "een cited as making the "eans further safe after
!ashing&
.1/
[edit] $conomics
)opi lu!ak is the most expensive coffee in the !orld, selling for "et!een A E0FF
and E5FF per pound& 't is sold "y !eight mainly in Japan and the Anited tates and
served in outheast #sian coffeehouses "y the cup& ources vary !idely as to annual
!orld!ide production&
.4/
[edit] "ales b# t!e cup
'n =ovem"er 1FF5 :erveys Range :eritage +ea Rooms, a small cafe in the hills
outside +o!nsville in Gueensland, #ustralia, put kopi lu!ak coffee on its menu at
#A@4F&FF (A E22&FF) a cup, selling a"out seven cups a !eek, !hich gained
nation!ide #ustralian and international press&
.5/
'n #pril 1FF7 the "rasserie at $eter
Jones department store in Hondon's loane Cuare "egan selling a "lend of kopi
lu!ak and *lue ;ountain called Caffe Raro for I4F (A E88&FF) a cup&
.6/
[edit] "imulated civet coffee
%ivet coffee is a popular coffeehouse drink in -ietnam, !here producers make
simulated civet coffee&
'n 0885 Berman scientists hired "y +rung =guyen %offee %ompany in -iet =am
isolated six digestive en(ymes in the civet's digestive tract and a patented synthetic
soak !ith these en(ymes !as developed to simulate the natural effect& +rung
=guyen's simulated product is called Legendee and is often the first kopi lu!akDlike
coffee tasted "y tourists in outheast #sia&
.7/
ome kopi lu!ak simulations are not en(yme soaks "ut rather, roasts of high Cuality
"eans !ith added flavorings&
[edit] Kopi muncak
Kopi muncak (or kopi munt%ak) is made from the dung of "arking deer (muntJac)
found throughout outheast #sia& Anlike civet coffee, )opi muncak is mostly
gathered in the !ild, chiefly in ;alaysia and the 'ndonesian #rchipelago&