The World's Most Expensive Coffee: Kopi Luwak
By habee
The world's best coffee?
Are you a coffee lover? What about a gourmet coffee lover? If so, you might have tried some premium brands of coffee like Green Mountain These coffees are small change compared to the world’s most expensive coffee. This coffee doesn’t come from the steep mountain slopes in Mexico or from Tanzania like Green Mountain coffee does. This coffee doesn’t even come from Colombia, as do many other premium coffees and gourmet coffees. This very unusual gourmet coffee, kopi luwak, originates in Indonesia.
Okay, there’s nothing strange about coffee beans growing in Indonesia. But these coffee beans are ultimately the product of civet cats, or more precisely, the palm civet. This animal, a small Asian mammal, prefers to eat the sweetest, ripest berries. It chews the outside covering from the beans and then swallows the remaining berry whole. As the berries travel through the civet’s digestive system, they acquire a unique taste.
The cats eliminate the beans whole. Proteolytic enzymes from the animal’s stomach alter the amino acids in the beans, giving them a very mild flavor. After about 36 hours, the beans are defecated by the civet cats, usually in clumps. The beans are then gathered, washed thoroughly, and dried in the sun. Once dry, the beans are lightly roasted, and they become kopi luwak coffee.
What does kopi luwak taste like?
There are several different species of beans that are eaten and harvested from palm civets, including Arabica, Liberica, and Robusto, so the taste varies. For the most part, however, kopi luwak has an amazingly smooth taste, with no trace of bitterness. Even so, the coffee is very rich and full bodied. Some coffee drinkers describe kopi luwak as having chocolate, orange, floral, and/or butter undertones.
How much does kopi luwak cost?
As I’ve already mentioned, kopi luwak is the most expensive coffee in the entire world. In 2009, kopi luwak coffee demanded about $1,400 a pound. It’s cheaper in the Philippines and can be found there for the bargain basement price of just $300 a pound. How much does that equal in cost per cup??
Below, you can buy smaller amounts of kopi luwak coffee, along with kopi luwak blends, for much more reasonable prices! Give it a try!
 | Amazon Price: $44.95 |
 | Amazon Price: $44.99 List Price: $89.95 |
 | Amazon Price: $319.00 List Price: $399.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $55.00 |
 | Amazon Price: $168.95 |
| Amazon Price: $100.00 |
| Amazon Price: $44.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $124.99 |
Read more about gourmet coffee:
- Buy Green Mountain Coffee at a Discount
If youre serious about your joe, youve most likely heard of GreenMountain coffee. GreenMountain coffee is one of the most popular coffees on the market today. The company has had amazing success in a...
Comments
I like Columbian coffee, I really haven't had much of anything else! It would be interesting to try some other counties coffee! Good hub!
I've heard about this coffee that comes from cat's excrement, but I din't know its name. Then I watched an amazing movie, The Bucket List, about two terminally ill men (one of them, Carter, is a blue-collar mechanic and another, Edward, is a billionaire hospital magnate, by the way a gourmet coffee lover who drinks exclusively Kopi Luwak) who made a list of what to do before they "hit the bucket"(die). Number 3 on the list says "Laugh till I cry" and Carter crosses it after he reveals to Edward the origin of Kopi Luwak coffee. Great movie.
Great hub.
YIKES!! Ouch, my achin' pocketbook! Interesting hub, but I'm not that much of a coffee drinker. I'm big on strong black tea, though.
My coffee, I usually take on weekends as an 'extra-chocolate mocha.' In other words, I like a bit of coffee flavor in my hot chocolate. LOL
I think I'll pass on this one. Not only because of the steep price - that's outrageous! - but why in the world would someone retrieve beans from excrement and use them? I suppose extreme poverty could have been the initial reason. Just glad I'll never be that hungry for coffee.
I don't think I could drink it after it is excreted by a cat yuck! I saw it on the bucket list music also. A very good movie.
Thank you for an interesting hub but neither could I go near it.
Jai, thanks for reading!
Nifty, I used to date a guy from Colombia, and he always served the most wonderful coffee!
Reu, I loved that movie!
Lizzy, I'm not big on hot tea, although I enjoy a cup once in a while. I'm more of a coffee drinker. Thanks!
Sheila, it's because the civet's digestive system gives the beans a unique taste. Admittedly, I would not pay $1400 a pound for kopi luwak, even if it is the world's best coffee! lol
I agree about the film, myawn!
HH - no kopi luwak for you?? lol
I'm thinking maybe I'd rather have fine wine than fine coffee! Great info though for those of us who can afford it!
Just came across a post on FaceBook about this! It linked to this article: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/of
UGH, I say again! ;-)
That is really costly!! Thanks for the info though..never knew about it
Buckie, I can't afford it, either! Guess I'll stick to cheap coffee, although I have tasted Kopi Luwak.
Lizzy, thanks for the heads up!
EZ, thanks so much for stopping by!
I've heard about this as well, It was marked of the list, the bucket list, for laugh till I cry, remember that? Great review of The Worlds Most Expensive Coffee Kopi Luwak. I think you should add an alternative purchase, Chocked full of nuts... did you see the movie?
Yes, I loved that part of the movie! I've tasted kopi luwak and didn't really care for it - maybe I just don't have "cultured" taste buds. lol
lol I like Folgers :)
I like Folger's, too!
Luwak coffee is delicious ..
The sensation is different from regular coffee.
Happy Luwak..
Kopi luwak definitely has a unique flavor!
Thanks for a very interesting hub. I've never heard of this coffee before.
It has a unique taste, Nancy! lol
Isn't this the coffee from the movie "Bucket List"?
I was a coffee addict long before there was ever a Starbucks and I've tried every kind of coffee imaginable. I think I'll pass this one up.
Yep, Fay - that's the one!
Hi, Any body interested in KOPI LUWAK are welcome to contact me, francishor@gmail.com, I have a very consistence source of supply.
need help where to sell my luwak beans. ive been collecting for half a year now and i have a couple of kilos
I tried this last weekend: apart from a slightly tangy, acidic taste, I can't say I found it so very differnt or better than my normal brand, but that could be because I'm addicted to my own brand
Enjoy drink coffee
Jai Warren 22 months ago
I've heard of this coffee before. If I remember correctly there was a segment on Bizarre Foods (Travel channel) where Andrew Zimmern had some in Vietnam. Very interesting, habee. Thanks, Ciao!