Kopi luwak is the world’s most expensive coffee. The main factor of it’s high price is the uncommon method of producing such a coffee. It has been produced from the coffee beans which have been digested by a certain Indonesian cat-like animal called then palm civet or also civet cat. This is the reason kopi luwak is also called cat poop coffee or civet cat coffee. The feces of this cat will be collected, finished and sold as kopi luwak. On this website you will find all relevant information about the production process, the cat, certified kopi luwak producers, the kopi luwak coffee itself and it’s unique properties and taste. The short supply, in comparison with the high demand, the different taste and the uncommon production methods define the value of kopi luwak – the most expensive coffee in the world.

Update 2019: The hype of being “the most expensive coffee in the world” leads coffee producers to achieve this status by setting artificial prices. There are some coffee types, which are meant to be more expensive then Kopi Luwak. These coffees, which prices are labeled at around 500$ per pounds, are:

Black Ivory Coffee

Finca El Injerto Coffee

Hacienda La Esmeralda

We are focusing on prices on regular “supply and demand” basis. Kopi Luwak is still the most expensive coffee in the world.

Here is a price comparison of a kopi luwak coffee with an average coffee brand:



kopi luwak

(most expensive coffee)

Average coffee $35 to $100

(price per cup of coffee ordered

in a regular coffee shop) $2 to $5

(price per cup of coffee ordered

in a regular coffee shop) $100 to $600

(price per pound or ~500g) $3 to $10

(price per pound or ~500g) 500 to 1000 pounds

= ~250kg to 500kg

(kopi luwak production per year) 1.8 mio. tons

of Brazil’s green coffee

= ~900 mio tons kg

(coffee production per year)

Why is Kopi Luwak so special and the most expensive coffee?

The most important reason of the coffee’s speciality is the production process. Have a look at the pictures below to see how the most expensive coffee is produced: from beans fallen from a coffee tree to a cup of Kopi Luwak coffee. If you want more details about each step, just click on “more..” in each section. Hint: To enjoy Kopi Luwak, use regular sized coffee mugs.

The coffee tree, Coffea, is a flowering evergreen plant native to tropical Africa and Asia. In the 17th century it was also imported to Latin-America. (more..) In fact, coffee beans are seeds and not beans. They contain caffeine as a plant defense against animals. However, this is no protection against the palm civet cat. (more..) During the digestion process the coffee cherries and the pulp are removed but the coffee beans are not digested. During this process some kind of unique fermentation occurs which is responsible for giving the civet coffee its special flavor. (more..) Palm civets, also known as civet cats, are small mammals which belong to the Viverridae family. Normally they prefer to eat just the ripest coffee cherries. In Indonesia these animals are known as luwaks. (more..) After about 24 hours the coffee beans are defecated by the civet cat. In Southeast Asia these feces are considered golden. They are collected from farmers and processed into coffee. (more..) In the next steps the coffee beans are washed, dried, pounded to remove the skin, sorted and finally roasted . (more..) Kopi Luwak coffee can be brewed like any other coffee. Avoid using sugar, milk or cream in your kopi luwak, because with these ingredients you will not be able to taste its unique flavor. (more..)

enjoy the cup!

Important: You should pay attention when buying Kopi Luwak coffee!

The keyword in this sense is animal friendly and “authentic“, which means it’s coffee cherries have been eaten, digested and excreted by wild living and non-caged civet cat, collected by farmers and sold to roasters to prepare for human consumption. The potential in selling of kopi Luwak is high, which allures alot business people trying to skim the market with wicked methods:

1.) “Fake” kopi luwak / Civet coffee

Around 70% of kopi luwak coffee or civet coffee available at coffee stores and the Internet is NOT 100% pure kopi luwak and sometimes it does not contain anything of the genuine coffee. Mark Prince of the popular industry forum Coffee Geek has stated, “There is probably 5,000 percent more kopi luwak sold each year than there is actually produced; production of the legit stuff runs less than 5,000 pounds per year. Why? Because there’s lots of snake oil salesmen packaging up plain Jane inferior commodity grade Indonesian coffees under this banner and trying to get $300 per pound for it.” If you need a detail explanation of the fake potential of kopi luwak, we recommend reading “Don’t Buy kopi luwak Coffee Before You Read This Book”, which gives some great advices. The “Fake” seller try to sell the “most expensive coffee” for a high price with low producing costs.

2.) “Cruel” kopi luwak farms / caged civet cats

Natural kopi luwak, which is harmless to the animals, is found on plantation grounds and collected for roasting. Unfortunately, the farmers of this expensive bean found too high a demand for the coffee and started to harvest the beans unnaturally. Farmers stopped worrying about the natural cultivation of the product and rather looked for ways to yield the highest profit. The answer? Farmers gathered and caged an over-abundant amount of civets and started to almost exclusively feed them coffee beans. High-end pricing turned farming civet cats for kopi luwak coffee into a enslavement industry. Hundreds of the animals can be caged together where they fight or gnaw at their own limbs due to mental distress. Many farmers are uneducated on how to care for their animals and stand by as many succumb to illness and death.

The differences between kopi luwak from farmed and wild civet cats:

FARMED CIVET CATS

WILD CIVET CATS

Q U A L I T Y: farmed vs. wild Kopi luwak has traditionally consisted of the best quality, ripest coffee cherries the luwak has selected and chosen to eat while leaving the vast majority of presumably inferior cherries uneaten. This is certainly a major factor in the final quality of the kopi luwak produced. Feeding luwaks coffee cherries to the exclusion of other foods will of course ensure they eat the cherries; however the cherries have not been selected by the luwak and are therefore not of the standard that is produced when the luwak is free to roam a coffee planation. The result is that kopi luwak produced by animals that are caged and farmed is inevitably of lower quality than wild/ free range luwaks.

Farmed civet palms do not select the ripest coffee cherries but merely eat to satisfy their hunger from the provided options.

Wild civet palms select only the ripest coffee cherries, which bears comparison with an automated filter for ’best quality’ berries. C R U E L T Y: farmed vs. wild Farmed civet palms are kept in a small wooden cell where its job is to eat and defecate. The animals select their berries from bowls instead of bushes. No more roaming the forests for these graceful cat-like creatures; a practice some connoisseurs’ claim leads to beans literally tainted by stress. Due to overfeeding of unripe coffee cherries while captive, the civets become ill. It is evidenced by bloody feces; however, once bleeding occurs, it is often too late to save the creatures Health problems

They fight among themselves

G naw on their own legs

P assing blood in their scats

F requently die very quickly Stress-free

Freely roaming with optimum selection



Natural enzymes required to enhance the beans flavor are optimized

Delivers unique and authentic flavoured coffee beans C O N C L U S I O N To sum up, kopi luwak cage farming is a cruel method for civet palms and has an output of low-quality unauthentic kopi luwak coffee.