Has anyone tried Kopi Luwak or Civet Coffee - what was it like?

cruise on 16/12/2013 - 16:08

The idea of how this coffee achieves its 'unique flavour' is not that appealing but I'm curious if anyone here has tried it and what their impressions of it were.

For those not sure what it is

Civet cats are nocturnal, furry animals who love to eat the ripe, tasty coffee cherries in Southeast Asia’s coffee plantations. The coffee beans are the hard, indigestible and the beans of the fruit are found in the droppings. The stomach acids and enzymes act on the beans to produce a unique and richly aromatic flavour as
it is processed through the digestive tract of the civet cat.

Also does anyone know where you can buy it and prices? Graysonline has it for roughly $700 per kilo.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • andy19363 on 16/12/2013 - 16:18

    I actually had some last Wednesday night…. brought some back from Bali…

    I wouldn't say it was the best coffee I've ever tasted…. but the flavour did seem to linger longer on the palate…. I could still taste it perhaps an hour later…

    was ok….

    • unicorn888 on 16/12/2013 - 16:25

      How did you passed Quarantine ? Mine was confiscated few years ago…1 kg..eughh..

      • andy19363 on 16/12/2013 - 16:26
        -1

        wasn't a problem…. declared it and they said it was ok

        • unicorn888 on 16/12/2013 - 16:35

          What? I declared it, the officer said "Smell really nice, but unfortunately you can't bring it in !" "Do you know it produced by civet?" I don't want to argue..and that is….my money gone

        • 2jzzzz on 16/12/2013 - 17:02

          They have just relaxed their stance and it is now ok, need to declare it still though.

    • boccos on 17/12/2013 - 08:04
      -1

      We have a Cafe in the hills west of Townsville about a 1/2 hour drive, that has it on their menu. Tried it for my birthday last year. It has a very nice strong flavour and the bitterness is lower than normal Cappuchino/Expresso. I really enjoyed it but at the charge of $50 per cup it is probably not going to be a regular occurence. Overall it is probably not sufficiently different to warrant the cost, at least to my palate anyway.

  • robotdad on 16/12/2013 - 16:25
    +2

    I'm curious too, but haven't gone there yet. Be aware that most kopi luwak/civet coffee is not caught in the wild as most pictures depict (http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/images/stories/large/2012/12… ) but by the equivalent of battery hen chicken production ( http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zKBbtj9rWrU/S8tg09AbyOI/AAAAAAAAE-… ).

  • donbot on 16/12/2013 - 16:54

    Tried it on a recent trip over there (or apparently did - can't say I followed the bean all the way through the process from branch to stomach to poop to my coffee cup)

    There was definitely a difference in taste but IMHO (and I'm a fan of black coffee and coffee of different origins), its not worth it. Good cup of coffee, but not mind blowing. Particularly at $700/kg - there is no way I'd bother wasting my time on it at anywhere near that price.

    If you want to taste a different/unique way of coffee - cold extraction (cold drip?). The times i've tried this with decent beans was much more flavourful and worthwhile than kopi luwak.

  • bajillionaire on 16/12/2013 - 18:41

    It's a bit nutty.

  • nubzy on 16/12/2013 - 21:08

    Tried it in Bali, nothing special at all. Not sure it was even kopi luwak to be honest,the way they prepared it was odd. They just put the grounds in the cup and added hot water, no filter or anything. The price was expensive $25 for a small pouch of it so did not bring any back.

  • wayacos on 17/12/2013 - 07:54

    Why would you condone this disgusting treatment of helpless animals by trying/buying this.
    This is why this treatment is perpetuated.
    Stop buying and the worthless beings will stop mistreating the animals of the world.

  • kaos on 17/12/2013 - 09:01

    tried it in Bali and would echo the other comments. Possibly worth trying but I wouldn't do it again. 2 reasons- the taste was not significantly different to normal coffee, and I also did not like the way they treated the civets. Will avoid in future

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join