A brief history of Kopi Luwak

There’s a bit of a story about Kopi Luwak. It takes its name from its Indonesian origin, Kopi meaning coffee and the Luwak Civet cat from Sumatra when it was first discovered by some ingenious farm workers in the 19th century. Forbidden from taking from the coffee harvest, these workers noticed that civet droppings near the plantations still contained whole coffee beans and that once removed from the droppings, these beans could be brewed and savoured just like any other coffee. It’s now favoured as one of the world’s finest. This is the coffee Jack Nicholson drinks in the film “The Bucket List”

There’s been some bad press about the civet cats and how they are treated and force fed in the production of Kopi Luwak. To reassure you, I only buy my Kopi Luwak from an industry trusted friend, Joseph, who has meticulously visited each farm to confirm the animals' welfare. We support these small, trusted farms where the Civet cats are treated with freedom and kindness. So, if you haven’t tried this, it’s an absolute must, and you can try it without any concern for the Luwaks in Sumatra. We would urge you to think long and hard as buying this coffee from another source will encourage this practice of battery farming.

Our coffee is fully certified, so we know where it has come from and that the civet cats are not battery farmed.

For those of you that have not seen "The Bucket List", or need a refresher, the story revolves around two terminally ill men (Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) who create a list of things to do before they die.

The men meet in a hospital room where they are roommates. Jack Nicholson's character drinks a fancy coffee called Kopi Luwak. Morgan Freeman gives him a hard time about drinking the fancy Kopi Luwak coffee, and says he prefers normal coffee. As the men are creating their bucket list, Morgan Freeman's character adds "Laugh until I cry" as an entry…. This is something to try… something that you can say you have done!

A Civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In the digestive tract, the Civets proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a Civet's intestines the beans are then defecated (the reason why it's known as cat poop coffee!), keeping their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness.

If you are looking for an exclusive, high quality coffee bean, why not try our Hawaiian Kona or Jamaican Blue Mountain both of which are sure to please your taste buds.