For all I talk about coffee here, I tend to stick to my preferred blend of coffee beans each day and am not very experimental. But during my time in Bali I finally tried a cup of civet coffee (locally known kopi luwak and derisively called “poop” coffee because of the manner in which the coffee is produced). This is the most expensive coffee in the world…would it live up to its pricey reputation?
Civet Coffee, AKA Poop Coffee, In Bali
Civet coffee can run up to $600 per pound…yes, I did not add an extra zero.
What makes it so expensive? The coffee consists of partially digested coffee cherries, which have been eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet. The cherries are fermented as they pass through a civet’s intestines, and after being defecated with other fecal matter, they are collected.
I made a special trip to a kopi luwak “farm” to see how this coffee was made…and taste it. Bali has many of these and the civets are now considered endangered due to the high demand for their “services” to produce coffee.
This place, called Abian Subak, has coffee growing on-site and civets to “refine” the coffee.
I also tried several other coffee varieties, like form avocado, vanilla, and coconut. All were edible, but none stood out.
But the civet coffee was 50,000 Indonesian Rupiah or $3.19 for small cup. Not too bad…
It was very dark and I did not add and dairy or sweeteners to it.
Here’s a live reaction as I tasted it:
Not bad. Not bad at all.
But also not great. It was a good cup of coffee, but hardly something that justifies such expensive beans.
Thus, the whole concept strikes me as something of a gimmicky novelty and not the leading edge of great coffee.
I’m glad I tried it. Now you don’t have to…
I took some avocado coffee home for Heidi. She thought it was drinkable…about my reaction.
Civit coffee is actually no longer the most expensive variety. I believe that title now belongs to elephant coffee! Same process but with elephants. I believe it is from Thailand. You’ve got to try that one next!
Cruel to capture civits and cage them … that’s Asia .
Same place it’s ok to F a kid for cash. Are you surprised?
Hell their tourism industry is based upon it.
And those that go there for “legitimate” reasons allow it to continue.
I always knew you were a shit eater, ahahah 😀
Finally a coffee more repellent and yet more expensive than Starbucks. Poor civets.
Wondering what your special blend is. In terms of mix of Arabica and Robusta varieties. You know that most of coffee produced in Indonesia is Robusta, right? It is usually not considered the best quality and it is cheaper as it yields way more than Arabica. Arabica is sweeter, has less caffeine and it has a much more refined and softer taste. It is a more prestigious coffee. Usually the best blends manage the right mix of both.
I’ve tried it. Can’t tell the difference between it and coffee that didn’t come out of a raccoon’s ass.
Me too. Things that are overrated.
I am sorry you got taken in by this scam.
https://coffeechronicler.com/kopi-luwak-cat-poop-coffee-shit/
https://youtu.be/pkbuFwHnJQY?si=34Veo_EptPIi-QfJ
(Key part is from 6:30 onward)
Props to the marketing person who convinced the writers/producers of “The Bucket List” to put it in their movie. Great return on that investment.
Aren’t you worried that drinking civet coffee might lead to a case of cat scat fever?
Seems like my earlier comment got auto-deleted because it had links. Unfortunately this coffee is a scam. James Hoffmann is a well respected coffee expert and has a good quick YouTube video about it. He strongly urges people not to buy this product.
Come on man, stick to cruelty-free coffee. Do a search on the conditions those animals are living in. ☹️
In the video,when you exclamated :”it’s good”; did you mean to the last drop? How did you make sure it wasn’t switched with instant coffee?
For a man who loves gastronomy, and a food lover, this is the ultimate.
I wouldn’t. Might give me diarrhea. or some intestinal worm.
Most if not all of our food is contaminated anyway with pesticides, heavy metals, palstics, and what else.
If you visit the Tegalalang Rice Terraces, you’ll pay an entrance fee that lets you either take the ‘swing’ or a coffee sampler set of 10 different flavors. Civet/poop coffees can be purchased for as low as $50 a bag.
I’m very much not of fan of civet coffee from both a practical and moral perspective.
From the practical viewpoint in nature civets will choose only the best coffee beans and consume those, which makes for a fairly high quality product since the critters are picky. The caged civets are given the coffee chosen by humans so what they poop out is vastly less selective which in turn lowers the quality of the coffee.
Morally, civet coffee ranks with killer whale shows at marine parks, beating dolphins to death in Japan, or maybe elephant rides in Thailand. Civets are trapped, fed whatever mediocre coffee beans humans see fit to give them, and kept awake in tiny cages for gawkers even though they’re nocturnal. In all my visits to Bali I’ve only seen one in the wild – in Sanur of all places. The creatures deserve to be left alone. If you want to be cruel to animals then go buy some harp seal fur instead.
@Christian … +1 .
As someone working in operations, the fact that an animal’s intestines can be thought of as a production line intrigues me
If their info sheet states ‘prevents cancer’ you know it’s a scam. Most likely you just had an expensive cup of coffee without the shit part.
I actually had civet coffee in Bali a few years ago! Agree that it tastes….fine. Kind of like poor-quality instant coffee, I thought.
Some people will fall for anything.
Really…..you coffee obsession is crap. Who gives a shit
The civets are usually caged. It’s deeply uncivilized for a cup of coffee. What were you thinking.