What questions do you think people ask a coffee expert? When I lead a coffee shop tour, what people most ask me about has nothing to do with coffee in Colombia.
I heard the question again not too long ago when I was with a group of Americans in a busy cafe in La Candelaria. A man across the table asked me a question that had obviously been weighing on his mind for some time.
He leaned forward, his face serious, and asked, “What do you think about cat poop coffee?”
Cat poop coffee
To call Luwak coffee “cat poop coffee” is memorable, although the term isn’t accurate. The coffee he referred to is called kopi luwak in Indonesia. The coffee is named after a civet (luwak) that has a habit I can definitely relate to – it loves coffee.
The Asian palm civet is a rather picky eater, and fruit ranks high in its diet. Since it lives in a coffee growing area, it includes coffee cherries (which are, after all, a fruit) in its diet.
The civet nips coffee cherries at the peak of ripeness off the trees. Then, as the cherries pass through its intestines, digestive enzymes get to work and actually ferment the beans, breaking down the proteins. Then the animal expels the undigested beans in the normal way.
At some point, people realized that the civet’s careful selection process (yes, they’re good coffee harvesters) and the breakdown of proteins in its digestive system produce a smooth coffee. That’s when humans began to step in and collect the droppings, clean them, and then process any coffee beans they found.
While the whole process might seem humorous, the prices are not – a pound of this coffee can soar above US$500.
The most expensive coffee
So now you’re telling yourself, “At that price, the coffee must be amazing.”
Well. Not really.
The problem with this idea of a smooth cup is – how smooth does it get? Brightness (or acidity) in coffee brings the coffee alive, highlighting other characteristics of the coffee and giving it a zing that delights the palate. When you eliminate this brightness, you’re dulling the coffee. Smooth, yes. Exciting, no.
I tried kopi luwak here in Colombia, at the Indonesian ambassador’s residence. After a delicious meal of soto ayam madura, tahu schotel, sate ayam dan longtong, nasi putih, and bajigur, the whispering started.
“It’s the most expensive coffee in the world.”
That got my attention. I listened to the murmuring. Were they going to serve an incredibly high-quality Colombian coffee? Why hadn’t I heard about it?
But this was an Indonesian meal, so of course, the coffee was also Indonesian. They were going to serve the famous kopi luwak.
Quality and luwak coffee
They handed me the cup of luwak coffee and I peered into its dark brown murkiness (looking, I guess, for evidence of civet feces). I sipped cautiously. It certainly is different from the bright acidity that Colombian coffee is known for. What I tasted was smooth, so smooth it barely stood out as coffee. There were no hints of liveliness, no sparks that made me admire the coffee. It was pleasant but non-descript.
So if the quality of luwak coffee isn’t exceptional – the reason why specialty coffee prices often go through the roof – why the high prices?
Frankly, the cost of the coffee has less to do with the intrinsic quality of the coffee and more with the story behind it. “Cat poop coffee” sounds exotic and intriguing. And it is intriguing, and it does stick in people’s minds…which is why people ask me the question so often.
What about the civets?
So is there anything wrong with luwak coffee, besides the fact it’s so smooth it barely excites the palate?
What may be wrong with the coffee has to do with the animals. What started as a simple process of collecting the beans these wild animals discarded in their waste became something far less innocent.
Eager for the high prices this coffee can pull in, people began to cage the civets, exclusively feeding them coffee cherries instead of their varied diet of insects and other fruits. The conditions the animals are often kept in may be well below internationally accepted standards, which include a prohibition on keeping caged wildlife on farms.
And then there are the scammers. Since civet coffee is produced in such small quantities, there isn’t enough to go around. So, enter the scammers who package common Indonesian coffee as kopi luwak and sell it for high prices.
Our decision about luwak coffee
So what do I think about kopi luwak?
As a person who loves animals, I’m deeply saddened to think of how the civets can at times be abused to create an expensive product.
As a coffee lover, I’m uninterested in coffees that don’t wow my palate.
And as a human being, I want to consume products that make me feel good about how that particular item helped make my world a better place. That means being sustainable, fair and safe for everyone involved – including the animals on the farms or in the surrounding environment.
Would I ever buy a coffee that is outrageously expensive, potentially abuses animals, and does not have any special taste characteristics? No. And I hope you would also take care to look into what’s behind the coffee you consume.
Great great article
Thanks!