Kopi Luwak
What sets Kopi Luwak apart from ordinary coffee is the involvement of Civet. A civet is small nocturnal mammal found in tropical Asia and Africa, particularly in the tropical forests. They eat fresh coffee berries but they can’t fully digest it, so they defecate the seed in its original form. The Civet droppings are then collected, cleaned, dried, roasted, and then ground.
Albeit the fact that Kopi Luwak is relatively similar to other coffee in other parts of the world, production-wise, it offers some unique characteristics. It has a rather lighter bitter taste to it as compared to other coffee which is allegedly caused by the absorption of the bitterness in the Civet’s digestion. It also offers an assortment of flavors that are all sweet. This particular way of coffee processing and the top-of-the-line quality of the final brew are the main reasons why Kopi Luwak is the most luxurious coffee in the world ever since, and still holds true today.
Kopi Luwak never undergoes intense roasting. A good brief roast is all it takes to come up with a flavor that is only one of its kind. As of the moment, the Sumatra region of Indonesia is the leading producer of Kopi Luwak.
The distinctiveness and exceptionality of coffee processed in such method paved way for the study in an attempt to find out why its brew is of such high quality. Such study showed that endogenous secretions of Civet penetrate into fresh coffee berries eaten by Civet. These secretions have enzymes that break down protein found in the berries causing higher levels of amino acids and less peptides and decrease in the bitterness, making it possible to come up with such unique flavor.
The safety of this particular method of processing coffee cause a stir at first because scientists believe that the fresh coffee berries go through the digestive system of Civet so there was a possibility that the defecated berries have organisms detrimental to human health. This can somehow be true, but it can be contraindicated by means of killing the microorganisms through thorough washing, drying, and roasting.
Processing this coffee takes a lot of time and effort as harvesters have to go collecting dropped clumps of coffee berries, no wonder Kopi Luwak is priced pretty high. People in Japan, USA, and certain parts of Asia are raving about this type of coffee. You can avail of Kopi Luwak in coffee outlets or selected coffee houses.
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