Luwak Coffee became famous as the most expensive coffee in the world. The price reflected, not only the quality of the coffee (only the best coffee cherries consumed by the Luwak), but also the labour intensive collection of the coffee beans and the limited supply.

For those that are unaware of the what Luwak Coffee is, or where it comes from; the Luwak, also know as the Asian palm civet, is a small to medium sized mammal that is found in many parts of Asia. Kopi Luwak is the product of the coffee bean being ingested and fermented in the gastrointestinal tract of the Luwak. Traditionally the coffee was made from farmers collecting the Luwak scat containing the coffee beans.

However, in a bid to mass produce this revered coffee, the traditional and humane way of providing Kopi Luwak has been replaced by Kopi Luwak farms. At these farms the civets are kept in tiny cages, in appalling conditions and force fed coffee cherries. Not only does this raise ethical arguments about the caging and treatment of these animals, it also raises questions about the coffee as well. The civet is no longer free to pick the best of the coffee cherries to eat, but instead are being force fed any cherries whether good or bad in quality. This begs the question “why is Kopi Luwak still so expensive?”

What you can do? DON’T visit the Kopi Luwak farms and DON’T buy the product. Instead visit tea plantations, tropical fruit farms or non-luwak coffee plantations.

Read more with this interesting article – Civet coffee: why it’s time to cut the crap