What is Civet Coffee (Kopi Luwak)?

Civet coffee, also know as Kopi Luwak, is the most expensive and coveted gourmet coffee in the world. But it comes from a very unusual source, the droppings of Asian Palm Civets, a cat like animal native to Indonesia. The local name, Kopi Luwak, is effectively a local translation of Civet Coffee. "Kopi" is the Indonesian word for coffee and "Luwak" is local name for the Civet.

Civets feed on the raw, red coffee berries of the region but do not digest the inner bean of the berry, which instead are excreted. Locals then hand pick the partly digested coffee beans from the excrement and sell these onto dealers. There is no risk attached to the beans however, they are all washed, sterilised and roasted just like every other coffee bean.