Civet coffee

This is not your typical coffee.  If you are looking for an exotic taste from an exotic source, you may want to consider Civet coffee.

You can also find it by the name kopi luwak.  Southern Luzon also has this coffee and is known as Kapeng Alameed or Kapeng Musang.

This coffee is produced commercially in Indonesia, the Philippines, South India and Vietnam.

Before the Luwak coffee industry emerged, civet cats would raid plantations for coffee berries and were considered little more than pests.

That is until plantation workers in Indonesia, who were not allowed to pick their coffee, discovered that civet cats were eating and passing on intact coffee cherries.  Workers picked, washed, and brewed these cherries, discovering that the resulting coffee had an exceptional flavor.  This is how the concept with the Indonesian name Luwak Coffee was born.

As the name suggests, this coffee comes from the Philippine civet.  The coffee itself is made from their poop.  The Philippine civet is a cat-like creature that roams at night and feeds on coffee berries. Luwak or Civet cannot digest coffee berries, so they are fermented in his digestive system and later eliminated from the body.  These animals live directly in nature; enclosures are not used in the Philippines.  Their droppings, which were washed and cleaned, acquired a distinctive coffee taste.  Wild civets eat only the ripest coffee berries, which are fermented in their digestive tract.  During this 24 to 36-hour process, enzymes break down some of the proteins in the beans, changing the flavor and chemical composition of the final product.  This coffee is characterized by the aroma of dark chocolate.

Particularly found in Davao, the most famous brand is Alamid ng Mount Apo Civet Coffee, it is one of the most coveted among coffee connoisseurs around the world.  This coffee is considered the most expensive coffee drink in the world, its price in New York is from 30 to 80 US dollars per cup.  There is Amadeo Cafe in Amadeo Cavite.

In Matutum, a protected landscape and the highest peak in the Philippine province of South Cotabato, the natives of Blaan produce wild civet coffee.

Kopi Luwak is said to have a range of benefits, from reducing inflammation and increasing energy to improving digestion and mental focus.