Luwak coffee “An exotic indonesian drink”
Luwak coffee (kopi Luwak) is a unique, fine and exotic coffee and the most expensive in the world, exported from Indonesia. Luwak coffee is also known as ‘Civet coffee’ because of the role played by the Asian palm civet, a native Indonesian animal that processes the beans. The coffee cherries are digested and fermented by it before being picked and further processed by the farmers.
Kopi is the Indonesian word for coffee, and Luwak is the local name for the wild Asian palm civet, responsible for developing the unique taste of the coffee, hence the name Kopi Luwak. Kopi Luwak is richly flavoured, more fragrant, less acidic, with a remarkably smoother texture than traditional coffees. Its superb quality leads to high demand and low supply and thus makes it the rarest and most expensive coffee in the world with a rich and strong aroma and a hint of chocolate flavor.
WHAT MAKES LUWAK COFFEE UNIQUE AMONG THE TRADITIONAL COFFEES?
Its uniqueness lies in its unusual production process. The Luwaks only eat the ripest and juiciest coffee beans of the best quality which stay in their digestive tract for 24 hours. The civet digests the pulp of the fruit and excretes the undigested hard seed through its faeces. The beans are then carefully washed before further processing.
During the digestion, the soft part of the fruit is digested. The hard bean remains undigested and is fermented by the enzymes present in the mammal’s stomach. During this process, the bean is transformed and filled with antioxidants, and the germination process reduces its bitterness, giving it a malt flavor. The juices and digestive enzymes in the Luwak’s stomach give it an unusual flavor. Then the farmers collect the civet’s faeces, break them down into single pieces, then after selecting the best beans, wash them, dry them, and keep them in a dark dry place before roasting. Roasting is a crucial step because the taste, aroma and color of the coffee depends on it. Every step is performed meticulously in order to ensure better quality and cleanliness before roasting. At last, the roasted beans are ground, providing us with the sensational delicacy of the rich, creamy, caramel hinted flavor and its earthy and musky aroma.
A SENSATIONAL DELICACY WITH HEALTH BENEFITS
Years of still on going research have shown that Kopi Luwak does have some health benefits such as:
- It protects teeth through its anti-bacterial properties.
- It reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
- It reduces the risk of Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases, gallstone disease, heart disease, diabetes, skin cancer and breast cancer, and it relieves from
- It has anti-cancer compounds.
- It is a powerful analgesic drug and thus helps relieve from all sorts of pains and aches.
For every coffee fan, it is surely a new thing to try a delicious gourmet coffee, obtained from the animal droppings. It is a novelty item and the world’s most highly coveted gourmet coffee. It’s warm, earthy, and exotic aroma with rich flavor, variety in taste and syrupy consistency is an attraction for everyone.
