In 2007’s The Bucket List, Jack Nicholson’s billionaire magnate is a fan of a luxury coffee called kopi luwak, only to be informed that the beans first pass through the digestive tracts of civets and are harvested from their feces prior to roasting. The implication is that the billionaire just liked drinking gimmicky expensive coffee without realizing its less-than-luxurious origins. It’s one of the most expensive coffees in the world, ranging from $45 per pound to $590 per pound, depending on whether the beans are farmed or collected in the wild.
Whether kopi luwak is worth that hefty price tag depends on who you ask. A Washington Post food critic once compared the beverage to stale Folgers, memorably describing the flavor as “petrified dinosaur droppings steeped in bathtub water.” Yet kopi luwak has many genuine fans who claim the coffee has a unique aroma and taste. Based on a new chemical analysis, they might have a point, according to a paper published in Scientific Reports.
Technically, kopi luwak is a method of processing, not a specific coffee bean variety. Asian palm civets hang around coffee plantations because they love to feast on ripened coffee berries; the berries constitute most of their diet, along with various seeds. The consumed berries undergo fermentation as they pass through the animal’s intestines, and the civets digest the pulp and excrete the beans. Coffee farmers then collect the scat to recover the excreted beans and process and roast them to produce kopi luwak.
There have been numerous scientific studies over the last 15–20 years aimed at identifying any key differences between civet coffee and regular varieties, with mixed results. Some have noted differences in volatile compounds, protein, sugar, mineral concentrations, and caffeine levels, as well as lower acidity and bitterness, and higher levels of acetic acid and lipids.
It’s not just about aromas and flavors, either. Because kopi luwak is so pricey, there is a thriving counterfeit trade, so achieving a better understanding of its specific chemistry helps detect fake products. And given the increased concern over intensive farming, where civets are kept in captivity and force-fed coffee berries, that deeper understanding could lead to a viable artificial fermentation process.