Kopi Luwak, the finest coffee beans extracted from civet feces, is chemically distinct from other beans
Civet Robusta and natural Robusta coffee are different on key fatty acid methyl esters and total fat | Scientific Reports
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-21545-x
Chemistry: The key to civet coffee is in the chemistry | EurekAlert!
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1102441
World's Most Expensive Coffee Is Chemically Different Because It's Literally Poop : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/worlds-most-expensive-coffee-is-chemically-different-because-its-literally-poop
When wild civets eat ripe coffee fruit, they digest the pulp but excrete the seeds undigested. The undigested coffee beans in their droppings are extracted, washed, dried, roasted, and sold as Kopi Luwak.
Kopi Luwak has been harvested and sold for over 100 years, and is said to have a unique flavor not found in regular coffee beans. At the time of writing, it fetches over $1,000 per kilogram. In recent years, the industrial production of Kopi Luwak has become a problem , with civets kept in cages and fed only coffee cherries.
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Kopi Luwak has long been considered a luxury item because it tastes different from other coffee beans, but there is still debate about the changes that the process of passing through the civet's digestive tract and excreting it as feces brings to the chemical composition of the coffee beans.
A research team from the Central University of Kerala in India conducted a study to compare the chemical properties of fully ripe Robusta coffee beans harvested from five Indian plantations with coffee beans (kopi luwak) collected from wild civet feces found on the same plantations.
The research team washed and crushed all the bean samples and then conducted chemical analysis. They found that the coffee beans collected from civet feces were significantly larger and contained more fat than those collected from other sources. This finding is consistent with the anecdote that wild civets have the ability to select the best beans. However, the protein and caffeine content of the coffee beans were not significantly different from those of regular beans.
One key feature of the coffee beans extracted from civet feces is that they contain higher amounts of caprylic acid and capric acid methyl ester (methyl decanoate), compounds that are thought to enhance the coffee's flavor and give it a dairy-like aroma.
It's important to note that while this study focused on Robusta coffee beans, most Kopi Luwak is made from Arabica coffee. Also, because the beans weren't roasted like regular coffee beans, their chemical properties may differ after roasting.
'These observations support the hypothesis that the civet's digestive process, accompanied by enzymatic absorption and natural fermentation, alters the chemical composition of the coffee beans, enhancing their flavor and contributing to the unique sensory characteristics of kopi luwak,' the research team said.
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