Legend has it Kopi Luwak was discovered in Indonesia under Dutch colonial rule. During that time, native farmers and plantation workers were forbidden from harvesting coffee for their own use from the cash-crops and were left to scrounge around the plantations.

The civet cat eats only the ripest of coffee cherries and passes the seeds—the coffee beans—without digesting them. During digestion these beans would also have all the extra fruity bits stripped off by enzymes, resulting in a thoroughly clean result! Locals would collect these deposits off the jungle floor and brew the beans into what tasted much better than the conventional coffee of the time.

“The secret of this delicious blend,” enthuses the Indonesia Tourism Promotion Board, “lies in the bean selection, which is performed by a luwak, a species of civet cat. The luwak will eat only the choicest, most perfectly matured beans which it then excretes, partially digested, a few hours later. Plantation workers then retrieve the beans from the ground, ready for immediate roasting.”

The aroma is rich and strong, and the coffee is incredibly full bodied, almost syrupy. It’s with a hint of chocolate, and lingers on the tongue with a long, clean aftertaste. Kopi Luwak began showing up in North America during the 1990s at the height of the Starbucks-inspired gourmet coffee craze. It has been sold in the U.S. for up to $600 per pound and can fetch as much as $30 for a single brewed cup in some parts of the world.

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