Animals that make luwak. The most expensive coffee of the litter. What kind of animal is Luwak?

Almost every true coffee gourmet has heard, and perhaps even tried, the famous Luwak coffee. This coffee has many names, the most popular are:

"most expensive"
"elite"
"premium"
"animal drink"
“drink of the Gods”, etc.

Where and how is Luwak coffee produced?

This coffee is produced in the Philippines, Indonesia, and southern India. The main “producer” of coffee is the Luwak animal, also called musang. This little cute animal simply cannot imagine “life” without ripe Robusta coffee berries. When eating coffee berries, the pulp is digested, and the “untouched” grain is excreted along with feces. Next, all the valuable cargo is collected and sent for thorough washing, and then for natural drying under the scorching sun. I would like to immediately note that the grains do not have any foreign odor after all manipulations. There is a “special” enzyme in the stomach of musangs, thanks to which the inherent bitterness of robusta disappears from coffee, and in return it acquires a light sour taste. Luwak are carnivores by nature, so in addition to fruits and vegetables, they are fed chickens. During the daytime, they lead a sluggish lifestyle; they are most active in the evening and at night.

Manufacturing process

Producing Luwak coffee is a very difficult and expensive process. Grain collection is carried out in 2 ways:

Luwak coffee, which is produced in the wild and not on a farm, is valued much higher, but it is almost impossible to buy.

The animals are allowed onto the plantations, after which the feces they leave behind are collected.
The second option is that the animals are caught and placed on a farm.

The surprising thing is that the enzyme in their stomachs can only be produced for 6 months of the year. It turns out that palm martens (another name for these little animals) are fed coffee beans only for six months, and the remaining time their diet consists of vegetables and fruits. But in most cases, experienced farmers catch martens only for the season, and then release them. This is due to the fact that it is not profitable to keep the animals for the remaining time. Musangs breed exclusively in the wild. Every day, each animal eats approximately 1 kg of berries; the output of the required grains is small and amounts to only 50 grams. This is the reason Kopi Luwak coffee is so expensive. Another highlight in production is the roasting process in a variety of ways. A very popular method is roasting beans in sweet syrup. The finished drink from such grains has a luxurious taste and aroma.

Legend of Luwak

There is a story about how people discovered the amazing qualities of this coffee. A tragedy happened in one farming family: cute animals called tsivengi (palm martens) ate the entire harvest that was intended for sale. The farmer's family suffered greatly and did not know how to make ends meet until one of them discovered undigested coffee beans left by the qivengs in the feces. Out of desperation, the family had to collect the feces left on the plantations and recycle it. The collected beans were thoroughly washed and roasted at high temperatures, after which they were taken to the market and sold as regular coffee. To the surprise of many, including the family itself, there were queues for coffee; as it turned out, the drink had a simply divine taste and aroma.

The cost of enjoying Kopi Luwak

The price of coffee varies greatly; on plantations the cost of 100 grams is 16-20 dollars. In the case of wholesale purchases, the price varies within $110 per 1 kg. In Europe, prices are much higher, for example, 1 kg of Luwak coffee costs $400, and in the packaged version the cost of 100 grams of coffee can reach a “staggering amount” of $120. The packaging depicts the main coffee producer - musang. But in such packs the content of true Luwak coffee is no more than 5%, but the cost is very reasonable: $6 per 0.5 kg. Often they try to fake Luwak coffee due to its high cost and high demand. They take regular coffee beans and carry out a special fermentation procedure similar to the process of digesting coffee berries in the stomach of a musang. But we can assure you that tastes vary greatly.

Video: Coffee Luwak: the most expensive and delicious coffee in the world

Beware of counterfeits

The most important thing to understand is that Kopi Luwak coffee is not available to everyone. Coffee production is carried out manually and in small batches, which certainly affects the price. If in your store or anywhere else you come across Luwak coffee costing less than 2900 rubles per 100 grams, then you should be extremely careful. It is necessary to ask the coffee seller to look at the original documents confirming the quality of the product.

Taste characteristics and preparation

The prepared drink has a wonderful rich aroma that is not like regular coffee. The aroma may vary depending on the animal's diet. Kopi Luwak gourmets note that coffee obtained in the wild differs from the farm version. The aroma and taste contain notes of chocolate, caramel and many other shades. The drink has a rather long, pleasant aftertaste, which cannot be said about regular coffee. This aftertaste is achieved due to the absence of acidity and bitterness. Espresso lovers should know that the drink turns out to be very thick and rich.

Experts note that the procedure for preparing Luwak coffee is similar to regular coffee. It can be brewed either in a Turk, a drip coffee maker, or in a French press. Asia and Europe call the cooking process in Turk “oriental”. In Vietnam, coffee is prepared differently: they take metal glasses on which a sieve and press are installed, then boiling water is poured into the coffee. After which the drink is infused for some time and dripped in small portions through a sieve. Without adding sugar, the drink is softer and less tart. You can drink the drink with anything, usually add a few ice cubes to it. In hot countries, people like to drink Luwak in combination with a mug of green tea.

Coffee is packaged in innovative packaging of 250, 500 and 1000 grams. Each pack is equipped with a degassing valve. They produce coffee in 2 types - ground and beans. There are also beautiful original gift sets in jars.

Probably, many have heard about the most expensive coffee in the world, the price per cup of which can reach $50 or even more. There are many legends about this coffee. I was lucky enough not only to try this coffee, but also to visit the coffee plantation where it is produced. I'll tell you what I managed to find out about him.

First, let's decide on a name. It is produced in Southeast Asia, or more precisely, in Indonesia, Sumatra, the islands of Bali and Java, Vietnam and the Philippines, South India (perhaps I missed something). Accordingly, it has many names. Most common Kopi Luwak, Kopi Luwak, in the Philippines it is also called Cape Alameed, coffee Chon- in Vietnam.

The uniqueness of this coffee lies in the method of its production. There are musangi animals (civet cat, palm marten) from the civet family that really love to feast on the ripe fruits of the coffee tree. They swallow them whole, but only the soft shell is digested in their stomachs, and undigested coffee beans are expelled naturally. Then people collect these grains, wash them thoroughly, dry them in the sun, and roast them. This is how it turns out to be real wild Kopi Luwak. It is clear that only a very small amount of coffee can be produced in the world in this way and therefore it is very expensive indeed.

In many regions of Southeast Asia, musangs are kept in cages on farms and fed coffee beans. And then everything follows standard technology.

I visited one of these farms near the city of Dalat and saw with my own eyes how coffee grows and how it is produced. I talked with the owner and learned a lot of interesting things about this legendary coffee first-hand. We were the only guests on the farm, so we examined everything carefully in a calm atmosphere.

- cute animals the size of a cat. In nature they are omnivores. They love to feast on the sweet fruits of trees, insects, small animals and birds, and can destroy bird nests. On farms they are not given such a varied diet, they are fed in such a way as to get the maximum amount of raw materials for Kopi Luwak. Adult animals are nocturnal and sleep during the day. And babies don’t have such a strict daily rhythm, so we managed to play a little with one of the cubs. My son was absolutely delighted with this.

Musangs are quite picky in their diet; they eat only the ripest and most delicious coffee fruits. A spoiled or immature ones will not eat even in captivity . In the stomachs of animals, coffee beans are exposed to gastric juice and a special substance civet (musk), produced only by the glands of these animals. All this removes bitterness from coffee beans, saturates them with enzymes, and gives them a unique soft chocolate-caramel taste with notes of vanilla.

This is followed by several stages of processing the coffee beans. First, they collect and wash what the musangs produce. According to the owner of the farm, the proportion of coffee beans suitable for the production of Kopi Luwak is a small amount of the weight of the berries that the musang ate.

Then the selected grains are thoroughly cleaned, washed again and dried in the sun.

After this, the coffee is roasted.

Next in the production of Kopi Luwak occurs The most interesting. This is packaging. Wholesalers purchase pure 100% Kopi Luwak and package it themselves into packs. However, they most often mix it with regular Arabica or even Robusta to reduce costs. The share of Kopi Luwak in this mixture may be only 5-10%, but the pack will still have a proud inscription on it. This is most often practiced in tourist places, souvenir shops, and at tastings where our tourists are taken.

There are craftsmen who are trying artificially ferment regular coffee, passing it off as Kopi Luwak. Usually this goes without problems. After all, how many of our tourists, who are brought by bus for tasting, have tried real Luwak and will be able to distinguish it from a fake? Most often there are none at all. Therefore, they listen carefully to what specially trained sellers tell them, taste the drinks offered to them with a smart look and spend their hard-earned money, which is not at all small, on these beautiful boxes. And not only for yourself, but also as gifts for friends and relatives.

In my experience, in order to really enjoy the taste Kopi Luwak, but at the same time save money, you can buy a mixture in which the share of Kopi Luwak is 40-50%. And you need to buy in those places where locals buy. The local name of the coffee will be written on the pack, and not “Kopi Luwak”, and especially not in Russian. For example, I bought packs with the inscription “Weasel coffee chon prenn”, this is Vietnamese kopi luwak.

People in Vietnam really love coffee. But they brew it in their own way using special coffee pots, which in their design are vaguely reminiscent of French presses. The coffee turns out to be very concentrated and cannot be drunk undiluted.

I prefer to brew Kopi Luwak traditionally, in a copper pot. On weekend mornings (there is no time to do this on weekdays), I take out a pack of coffee and open it. The aroma from it is simply magical. Then I grind a portion of coffee in a coffee grinder and pour it into the Turk. I add a little sugar and a little salt, fill it with water and put it on the stove over the lowest heat. The coffee produces a dense crema (foam), and the aroma lingers throughout the entire apartment. And the taste is just a fairy tale!!! Delicate, soft, but at the same time rich chocolate-vanilla, it is pleasant to drink and retains a long aftertaste.

The small Luwak animal, also known as the musang or palm civet, belongs to the civet family. are the main habitat of musangs, but their distribution area is quite diverse. The main distribution area of luwak is Africa, South and Southeast Asia, including the Philippines and Indonesia. The Luwak animal, with a body weight of 1 to 15 kg, resembles a marten or ferret in appearance, its body length varies from 30 cm to 1 meter. Luwak are active mainly at night. The Luwak animal is often the target of hunters who want to get not only the valuable civet fur, but also edible meat.

Nutrition

The Luwak animal lives in trees and is a small predator, but the basis of its diet is not only meat, but also various insects, as well as fruits, nuts and other plant components, including coffee tree beans. Musangs carefully select the ripest and most intact coffee beans thanks to their sense of smell, which allows them to find aromatic and tasty coffee beans.

Production of elite coffee

The Luwak animal eats so much coffee beans that it cannot digest them. When coffee beans enter the Luwak body, they ferment, which subsequently affects the taste of the beans. In the stomach of the animal, the process of digestion of the pulp of coffee fruits occurs, and the coffee seeds are excreted naturally, acquiring a slightly changed appearance. They are collected, thoroughly cleaned and washed to remove Luwak droppings. After this, coffee plantation workers dry the coffee beans in the sun - so they are lightly roasted. After such actions, the sale of coffee begins, on which a luwak is often depicted - an animal that “produces” an elite product.

Research results show that such coffee is safe for consumers, since after careful processing of the beans, there are practically no pathogenic bacteria in them, and subsequent roasting of the beans kills the remaining ones.

The production of such coffee requires a lot of manual work, takes a lot of time and effort, so it is produced in small quantities. The rarity and high cost of coffee is a consequence of the destruction of the Luwak's natural habitat, which causes a decrease in their numbers.

Until some time, palm civets were considered dangerous pests that ate all the ripe fruits, so they were exterminated by Indonesian farmers. However, as it turned out, it was in vain, since with the help of these small animals one can earn a lot of money in the production of elite coffee called Kopi Luwak, which has become the most expensive to date.

A little history

When Indonesia was a Dutch colonial possession, local farmers were increasingly taxed in the form of coffee beans, which were highly valued by the local population. Then Indonesian farmers noticed that coffee beans from musang excrement were practically indigestible, so they began to carefully clean them and ship them to the Netherlands. However, coffee made from these beans turned out to be so aromatic and tasty that it began to gain popularity outside Indonesia. This is how the original technology for producing Kopi Luwak coffee was born, which today is considered the rarest and most unusual. Many coffee lovers describe it as an aromatic drink that has a caramel flavor with a hint of chocolate. Whether you try this coffee or not is up to you!

Luwak coffee is known throughout the world as the most expensive type of coffee. The reason for the inflated price lies in the particular creation of the product. It is not produced by machines, and attempts to recreate its chemical composition have failed. Only coffee beans created in relatively natural conditions receive the very taste that causes a surge of admiration among people, in particular coffee gourmets.
Many people are confused by the process of obtaining these beans, so those who are faint of heart are usually given a taste of coffee first, and then they are told the recipe for its creation. So, the whole point lies in the structural features of musang organisms. These animals, also called palm martens, feed on coffee cherries, after which the product ends up in their stomachs. There, mixed with juice, processed and equipped with special components, they come out naturally. The grain itself is extracted from what is obtained through refining. The body of musangs contains civet, which imbues the eaten fruit of the coffee tree with a special tart and slightly bitter taste.

Several other types of coffee are also produced from the waste of these animals. In chemical laboratories they tried to create a similar variety by adding civet to the grains, but nothing worked - the taste was not bitter enough, not soft enough and differed in all taste qualities from the real one.
The name of coffee comes from the Indonesian “kopi lua”, which literally means musang coffee (“kopi” means coffee, “lua” means civet, which is another name for musang). The correct pronunciation is Luwak coffee, but the interpretation in Slavic directions changed y to y, thus forming the name of the most expensive animal drink - Luwak coffee.

Luwak coffee production

There are two types of its creation - wild and farmed. The essence of wild is that the animal is completely given freedom to choose berries. Musang walks around the farm completely calmly, selects the best coffee cherries, eats them and later returns his “gratitude.” The problem is that it is unknown where exactly his reward will lie.

Creation of this type is more natural, but also more difficult to process, therefore it is considered to be of higher quality than a farm product. The latter involves placing the animal in a cage and force-feeding it grains. In this case, the musang does not choose the best berries, eating what they give, because it is very hungry (the farmers themselves, of course, assure that the animal is given a sufficient amount of food, and it continues to choose the best fruits, but tourists hardly believe this - the animals are always very hungry). In a cage, the Musang has no choice but to defecate inside it, which makes further processing of the grains much easier.
After the animals are given grain, they are sent for drying. On special canvases framed with wooden frames lie grains mixed with other civet waste. The smell is not the most pleasant; the aroma of Luwak coffee appears after all the cleaning procedures. Yes, the cleaned grains are sent for additional drying, after which they are sent for frying, where a pleasant smell is created. Frying takes place in a special clay pot without oil, and everything is mixed with the same clay ladle.

Tourists are sometimes allowed to participate in the process of roasting beans. This is how the world famous coffee is born. It can be ground and served as a powder in a bag, or in the form of grains.

Production volumes have their own limits. An animal is not a machine, and cannot produce an unlimited amount of grain. This explains the cost of coffee. For 1 kg of berries eaten, the civet returns about 50 g of product. In addition, they cannot eat fruits alone; they also need animal meat, which is why residue appears when defecating. Another disadvantage of musang is that civet appears in the animal’s body only within six months. Many farmers catch civets for six months, after which they release them - it’s both easier for the animals and less troublesome financially.

Luwak coffee prices

Such exotics cost a lot - on plantations about $100 per package, that is, per 100 g, or, if bought “in bulk” - $400 per 1 kg. Online stores do not always sell real Luwak coffee, so prices can be found cheaper. In particular, on some sites it is $37.5 per 100 g, on others it reaches 50. It is not known whether this is real Luwak coffee or not, but it is best to order from the manufacturer itself - it is more expensive, but there is a 100% chance that it is real.

You can see the entire process of producing Luwak coffee, for example, at. Every self-respecting company keeps these animals here, and besides, the prices for coffee are very reasonable.
Watch an interesting video about Luwak coffee, in which you will learn not only how to distinguish real coffee from a fake, but also where you can buy a quality product.

Every true coffee lover, if he hasn’t tried it, has at least heard about the world-famous Indonesian coffee luwak (kopi luwak).

Manufacturers and sellers award this coffee with all sorts of epithets: “the most expensive”, “the most prestigious in the world”, “elite”, “premium class”, “drink of the gods”, its taste is “extraordinarily soft”, “caramel”, “ with a delicate aroma of vanilla and chocolate,” and so on and so forth.

Although we ourselves don’t really like coffee and are not big connoisseurs of it, we still decided to find out better what this most expensive “bestial” coffee is.

Luwak in the local language is pronounced “luwak”, but since most people are more familiar with the pronunciation “luwak”, we will not retrain anyone and will continue to call it that way – “coffee luwak”.

To write this post, we visited several Balinese coffee plantations, as well as the annual Indonesian coffee festival in Ubud, where we tasted different varieties, compared regular coffee with Luwak coffee, and talked with local coffee masters.

So, meet the main character in the chain of production of the most expensive coffee, a small animal with sad eyes - the musang or palm civet ( paradoxurus hermaphroditus).

The process of making this exquisite coffee is as follows: civets eat fresh coffee berries, which are processed in their stomachs and intestines due to special enzymes.

Coffee beans, which naturally leave the digestive tract of animals, are dried in the sun, then thoroughly washed, after which they are dried again in the sun and only then roasted.

The best and most delicious coffee is produced by wild civets, who at night make their way to coffee plantations, where they feast on selected juicy and ripe coffee berries,

and as a thank you, they leave their waste, which farmers then find under the coffee bushes and carefully collect.

It is difficult to imagine in what fevered brain the idea of scooping out grains from excrement and eating them was originally born, but the fact remains that this happened, and civets began to be caught and caged in order to put the production of Luwak coffee on stream.

Despite the assurances of farmers that civets continue to be fed exclusively with selected berries, this is hard to believe, and judging by the hungry eyes of the animals, they are unlikely to be very picky.

Each civet is fed about 1 kg of coffee berries per day, which yields only about 50 g of the necessary beans - this, in fact, explains the fact that Luwak is the most expensive coffee. Civets live not only on coffee rations - since they are predators by nature, their diet must also contain animal food - as a rule, they are fed chicken.

During the day, luwak are sleepy and lethargic and sleep most of the day, and their peak activity occurs at night, so the main feeding of coffee berries occurs in the evening, and chicken is given almost at night.

The high cost of this coffee is also explained by the fact that civets do not breed in captivity, so production can only be increased by using wild animals. In addition, a special enzyme that affects coffee beans is produced in their bodies only 6 months a year, and the rest of the time they are kept “idle”. Many even release civets into the wild, and catch them again before the season - this turns out to be more profitable than feeding them for nothing for six months.

The cost of Luwak coffee (kopi luwak) on plantations is about 150 thousand rupees ($15) per 100, with wholesale purchases about $100 per kilogram. In Europe, the price reaches $400 per 1 kilogram, and in retail, the price for this expensive coffee packaged in packs can reach $100 per 100 g.

We asked to see the plantation and were given a tour of the grounds.

They showed the unfortunate civets dozing in their cages. As a rule, they are quite aggressive, but during the daytime some individuals are friendly, so you can even pick them up. They feel soft and fluffy, like cats, and their faces are very cute.

Coffee plantation tour

After the cages with the animals, we watched how the grains, initially not yet separated from the excrement, were dried on special trays placed in the sun.

then the selected and washed grains are dried,

after which, completely prepared and dried grains await their turn for the next process.

So on the plantations you can see the entire process of coffee transformation - from the berries that grow on the trees, to the usual roasted beans or even ground coffee packaged in packs for sale.

We even had a hand in the roasting process - the boy stirring the beans honored us and handed us his ladle.

Luwak coffee tasting

After the tour we were invited to a table,

to a tasting ceremony, where they offered to taste several types of tea, as well as regular coffee.

We leisurely sipped tea, enjoying the views of the rice terraces.

But we were also offered to try kopi luwak, but for a fee - a cup of exclusive food costs 50,000 rupees ($5).

We tried it later, at the Food Festival in Ubud (which we'll talk about later) - if you drink it with as much sugar as the Indonesians like, you can't tell the difference.

Without sugar, the taste of Luwak coffee is slightly different - it is softer and less tart, but in our opinion, the price for it is increased more for the name than for the taste, although this is only our personal opinion, and we, again, are not coffee connoisseurs 🙂 In addition, many people enjoy purely psychological pleasure - sitting with a cup and realizing that you are drinking the most expensive coffee in the world)

In addition to civets, plantations often contain other animals, such as porcupines,

rabbits,

Bees and wasps are also bred there - wasp honey, by the way, has a very specific taste.

And also, in addition to coffee, spices and cocoa are grown on the plantations (we already talked about it in the article "").

In plantation stores you can buy packaged spices and other products with extracts of cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, nutmeg,

and also taste or smell unpackaged, freshly picked spices.

Where are the coffee plantations in Bali?

Most of the coffee plantations where Kopi Luwak can be found are located on the road leading to Kintamani ( mark on the map). There are several plantations there, we counted at least 5; on the road, as a rule, there is a large sign with the inscription Kopi Luwak.

There are not many accommodation options near the plantations; one of the few hotels nearby where you can stay is Bali Eco Advanture Resort. You can see other options here.