"It is a coffee beloved by Hollywood and influencers now researchers say they have found an ingredient that might help explain the unique flavour of kopi luwak. Also known as civet coffee, kopi luwak is produced from coffee beans that have passed through the digestive system of the Asian common palm civet. The resulting product is not only rare, but very expensive costing about 130 for 500g. It is also controversial, with animal welfare experts raising concerns that some producers keep civets in battery-style conditions."
"The enzymes and microbiome involved in fermentation [in the civet] [are] different from [the] manual fermentation process. Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, Sinu and colleagues reported how, in January 2025, they collected beans both from wild civet scat as well as trees across five estates in Karnataka, India, that were cultivating Robusta coffee. The team then prepared and ground both groups of beans although they did not roast them before analysing them."
Kopi luwak is produced from coffee beans that have passed through the digestive system of the Asian common palm civet. The product is rare, expensive (about 130 for 500g), and controversial because some producers keep civets in battery-style conditions. Unroasted beans were retrieved from wild civet scat and ripe Robusta berries that were manually collected from trees across five estates in Karnataka in January 2025. Both groups were prepared and ground but not roasted before analysis to preserve heat-sensitive oils and esters. No significant differences in protein or caffeine content were found. Beans from civet feces exhibited higher fat content and altered chemical profiles attributed to gut fermentation driven by distinct enzymes and microbiomes.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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