5 things you didn’t know about kopi luwak

1. Kopi Luwak without the luwak?

The distinct taste of kopi luwak is due to the protein structure of the coffee beans broken down in the civet cat’s stomach reducing bitterness. This is also what justifies luwak as the most expensive coffee. A Vietnamese company however has claimed to have replicated the digestive process without animal involvement.

2. What’s worse than a $50 cup coffee? A fake $50 a cup coffee

The high price of kopi luwak drives the search for a way to produce kopi luwak in large quantities. This has resulted in a lot of imitation coffee. Now bio-technologists in Japan have developed the first chemical test to differentiate predigested coffee plucked from civet poop from regular beans picked from trees.

3. Awards for poop coffee anyone?

In 1995, an Ig Nobel Prize was awarded to John Martinez of J. Martinez & Company in Atlanta, Georgia, for “Luak Coffee, the world’s most expensive coffee.

4. Scoop on the poop

The farmers at the coffee plantations of Java and Sumatra were the first to scoop the cat poop and make the gourmet beverage from it. Turns out the dutch plantation owners prohibited the farmers from using the beans for personal use. But when the farmers really wanted a taste of the amazing coffee beans, they came up with their own solution! The result? World’s rarest and most expensive coffee beverage!

5. Is it on your bucket list?

Did you know that Cat poop coffee is one of the “most bucket-listed” beverages? Kopi Luwak is mentioned in the movie “The Bucket List” as Morgan Freeman reveals with great amusement of how the Kopi Luwak — enjoyed by Jack Nicholson — was produced; eaten and defecated by the civet cat. Jack Nicholson replies in surprise “You’re shitting me!” and Morgan Freeman replies “No, the cats beat me to it!”.