The most expensive coffee in the world. The most expensive coffees

Coffee is an aromatic, invigorating drink with a unique chocolate taste, loved by millions. He came to us from Ethiopia, where he acquired his fans already 1000 years ago.

In the Ottoman Empire in 1511, coffee was declared a "sacred drink". The ingenious German composer John Sebastian Bach wrote "Coffee Cantata", Catherine the Great was a fan of the "black drink". It was she who first began to use the "coffee scrub", mixing coffee grounds with soap and cleansing the face and body with the resulting mixture.

Once upon a time, coffee beans were a scarce commodity and were worth their weight in gold. Since the middle of the 18th century, Europeans have equipped coffee plantations in many tropical countries - Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Vietnam, India.

And today, real coffee is not a cheap product. For example, the Arabian coffee tree or Arabica bears fruit with beans from which the most expensive coffees in the world are obtained - from $ 250 to $ 500 per kg. Various technologies are used in their manufacture, but the main thing is that all actions are performed manually - removing coffee beans from trees, sorting, roasting, packaging. If machines are involved in the process, then the type of coffee immediately drops in price.

But there are several varieties of coffee, in the manufacture of which they use exclusive, completely unique technologies, while their price skyrockets. So which coffee is the most expensive in the world and how is it produced?

"Kopi Luwak"

To purchase 1 kg of this type of coffee, you will have to pay up to $ 1,500! This drink is rightfully called the most expensive in the world. This is because the technology of its manufacture is unique.

Small animals Musang, which inhabit all of South and Southeast Asia, eat the ripe fruits of coffee trees. The grains are not completely digested and are excreted with animal excrement. People collect musang feces, select undigested coffee beans from it, wash them thoroughly, dry them in the sun, then grind them and sell them for $ 50 a cup of the finished drink.

It has an extremely mild and pleasant taste, without the usual bitterness of coffee. This is because Musangs digest the pulp surrounding the grains, while their gastric juice breaks down some of the proteins that give regular coffee a bitterness. In the process of fermentation, civet is involved - a special substance with which the musangs mark the territory. At the outlet, it gives the grains a pleasant musky smell. This is how, with the help of a natural laboratory - the digestive tract of small animals - and they get the most expensive coffee on Earth.

It is interesting that if earlier the Kopi Luwak variety was a piece commodity, then in recent years in Indonesia, South India and the Philippines its production has been put on stream. How? Very simple. Fur farms have been built in these countries, where musangs are kept. They are fed coffee beans, and then the whole process is repeated. Thus, several hundred kg of coffee of this type began to be produced per year. Of course, this immediately affected the price of the goods, which fell to $ 350-400 per kg. It's still a lot!

Still, true gourmets prefer to buy "Kopi Luwak", produced in natural conditions. The fact is that on fur farms, Musangs cannot independently choose which grains to eat, they have to eat what they are fed with. Also, in captivity, animals cannot run or jump, while in freedom they move a lot and instinctively choose the best, ripe coffee beans. All these factors influence the final taste and aroma of the drink.

"Black ivory"

Another variety that claims to be "The most expensive coffee in the world." And again, animals are involved in its production, but this time - elephants. Its price reaches $ 1850 per kg!

The technology for the production of "Black Tusk" is very painstaking: first, the elephants are fed several tens of kilograms of Arabica grains mixed with other elephant food - bananas, fruits, grass. For more than a day, the elephant digests everything eaten, while the coffee beans are only partially digested: stomach acid destroys a special protein that is responsible for the bitterness of coffee. The grains in the elephant's digestive tract undergo a natural fermentation process, saturated with an earthy and fruity aroma.

After that, they leave the body along with the feces. Workers collect elephant dung, carefully sort it out with their hands, finding Arabica grains, which are then washed, dried and ground. This coffee is used to make an excellent drink that has a delicate taste without bitterness and a light fruity aroma.

"Black ivory" is produced only in Thailand, and you can try it only in 4 hotels in the Maldives and at the Anantara Golden Triangle resort, which is located on the border of 3 states - Laos, Myanmar and Thailand ( hence the name).

Why is the price of Black Tusk so high? Firstly, due to the special production technology, due to the fact that all actions are performed manually. In addition, in order to get 1 kg of elite coffee beans at the exit, the elephant is fed as much as 35 kg! It is clear that the elephant chews part of the grains, part is lost in the grass, part is damaged too much during digestion. In total, strictly 50 kg of this elite variety go on sale a year.

It is interesting that a significant part of the funds raised from the sale of "Black ivory" goes to charitable purposes - the treatment of elephants, helping the families of the drovers.

"Terra Nera"

The cost of this elite sort of coffee is simply off scale - more than $ 20,000 per 1 kg! "Terra Nera" is the most expensive coffee in the world, so far you cannot find more expensive than this brand on the shelves. And again, in its production, the main participants are small animals called palm civets, by the way, they are relatives of Musangs, which are used to obtain the Kopi Luvak coffee variety.

"Terra Nera" is produced only in one point of the world - in the southeastern part of the Peruvian Andes, in the homeland of the Quechua Indian tribe. Here, ripe Uchunari Arabica cherries are fed to palm civets. The animals partially digest coffee beans, depriving them of bitterness during natural fermentation and giving them a special taste. Then these grains come out together with animal excrement. They are carefully sorted out, washed, dried, and then grinded. The brewed Terra Nera coffee has a very rich cocoa and hazelnut aroma and a great taste, which is highly appreciated by gourmet tasters.

This elite variety is produced in limited quantities - only 45 kg per year. You can buy it only in one and only store - Harrods in London. It is sold in 500 grams each in a luxurious pouch made of silver paper, which perfectly preserves the aroma of coffee. The package is sealed with a special flap and tied with a cord with a gold tag. The manufacturer's initials are engraved on the tag, as well as the degree of roast coffee beans (can be from zero to sixth degree). At the request of the buyer, his name can also be engraved on the tag (this service is included in the price of the product).

What other expensive coffees are there?

Other types of coffee are produced in the usual way, that is, without the participation of animals. Therefore, their cost is significantly lower than the above 3 varieties of the most expensive coffee in the world.

Esmeralda (the original name - Hacienda La Esmeralda) is in the first place in terms of price and quality among the traditionally produced coffee varieties. It is produced on a farm in Panama (South America), on the slope of Mount Baru, according to a secret recipe. The work is carried out partly by hand (collection, sorting of grains), and partly mechanically (drying). The result is an elite variety that combines chocolate, fruity and spicy notes. Hacienda La Esmeralda has repeatedly been recognized as the most refined drink in the world, receiving all kinds of prizes at international competitions. Its price is up to $ 400 per 1 kg.

"Saint Helena" or St. Helena Coffee is another elite coffee that is produced on the eponymous volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean. Its cost reaches $ 200 per 1 kg. Recognized as one of the world's most environmentally friendly products.

"El Injerto" - it has been produced in Guatemala (Central America) since the 18th century. The small town of Coban is home to one of the world's most famous coffee plantations. The local climate favors the cultivation of very high quality coffee beans, which, in combination with a special production technology, makes it possible to obtain a unique type of coffee worth $ 150 per 1 kg.

In Brazil, the Fazenda Santa Ines coffee variety is grown, 1 kg of which costs at least $ 100.

Blue Mountain, which is produced in Jamaica, costs about the same. Almost 85% of this variety is exported to Japan, where it is the most popular beverage.

Cultivars include Los Planes (El Salvador, Central America) and Kona Coffee (Hawaiian Islands). Their price is in the range of $ 80 per kg.

The “cheapest” varieties on our list are Starbucks Rwanda Blue Bourbon (Republic of Rwanda in East Africa) and Yauco Selecto AA Coffee (Puerto Rico island in the Caribbean) at a price of only $ 50 per kg.

Luwak coffee is the most expensive and original coffee in the world. This drink is considered popular in Indonesia, and it is made on the islands of Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra. If you translate the name of this coffee literally, it means luwak coffee.

Luwak is such a predatory animal that loves to feast on ripe coffee berries. He loves these grains so much that he often overeats and most of the grains immediately enter the gastrointestinal tract, practically unchanged, only slightly processed with digestive enzymes.

The same animal boosted the economy of the islands well. Until recently, local residents sold ordinary coffee, which was not of very good quality, so their incomes were small. And also this luwak, which devoured all the coffee and was caught in order to exterminate it. One planter came up with a different method, to wash the grains that have passed through the animal's digestive system. This coffee has won the attention of gourmets, so the luwak has unexpectedly come to be appreciated by local planters.

The reason for the fame and popularity

At first, luwak coffee was appreciated in Japan, but after a while it spread throughout the world, despite the high price (400 euros per kilogram). Some believe that Luwak coffee is popular because of its caramel-chocolate flavor, but others believe that it is because of the origin of these beans.

Luwak coffee is the rarest and most expensive coffee in the world. This drink is supplied only from Indonesia and is the rarest and most original drink. Why is it rare? Because every year it is harvested in the world no more than 250 kg. And for its noble and unusual taste, this coffee is known for its unusual collection and unusual way of grain fermentation. As for the animal itself, the luwak is a small predatory animal that loves only the most ripe and. Until some time, the luwak was considered a pest, until they realized that it could make a lot of money on it. Luwak coffee is obtained, also has a chocolate smell and is a drink of the gods. The price of such a drink is high not only because Luwak coffee is very tasty, but also because its production is scanty.

Many begin their own. Also, most people and natural coffee. But there are many varieties of them. What is the most expensive coffee drink? Luwak coffee, of course. For this coffee, coffee lovers all over the world give a lot of money.

Where do they produce

It grows, as already mentioned, in the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi. But it is not the growing zone that makes this drink so expensive, but the production technology. Only in this region lives a small predatory animal of the civerrids family. Until recently, such an animal was considered a pest that destroys the coffee crop and was fought with all known methods. This animal feeds on coffee beans and, even worse, chooses the ripe and finest beans.

A little later, one person decided that it was possible to earn money on this pest. How did he do it? He saw that Luwak was consuming a lot more grains than it could over-etch. Thus, not over-pickled grains leave through the digestive system practically in their entirety, only processed with enzymes. These coffee beans come out of the animal naturally.

Now it is no longer known who was the first to taste Luwak coffee, but those who drink it claim that the coffee has a very unusual and amazing taste. The aroma of the drink after such processing is further enhanced. Due to the abundant leaching, the luwak coffee tastes less bitter, since proteins are washed out with water.

Although the process of processing the grains is quite natural, no one has yet succeeded in doing everything artificially. Therefore, the inhabitants of Indonesia are trying to collect more waste products of the luwak, from which the most expensive and delicious drink is prepared.

Luwak coffee is a coffee that has no equal both in rarity and in price. A kilogram of these grains is equal to 320-400 dollars. The real name of this coffee is "Kopi Luwak", which means luwak coffee from Indonesian. Despite the origin of the beans, its producers claim that Luwak coffee meets all quality standards. This way of processing coffee is even more aromatic and tasty. The taste of the drink is enhanced, and this coffee also smells like chocolate and has a caramel hue.

Where to taste real Luwak coffee

In Russia there is a specialized online store - luvak.rf, you can buy luvak coffee with delivery throughout the country. The quality is really high. The biggest lovers of Luwak coffee are the Japanese. It is to Japan that the largest amount of this drink is sent annually. Only recently, a small batch of such coffee made it to the United States, where it simply excited local coffee lovers and coffee professionals. At first, everyone laughed a little at this coffee, and did not take it seriously. But then, having tried it once, we realized what a delicious and unusual coffee it is.

True coffee lovers have definitely heard about Luwak coffee at least once in their lives. In articles about coffee, this name or even a type of coffee appears as the most refined, best, most expensive coffee in the world. There are many different opinions about this coffee, but whole legends go about the chocolate-vanilla taste of the drink, which is made with the help of small predatory animals that live in Indonesia and feed on the best coffee beans. Luwak coffee cannot be of poor quality, as Luwak selects only the best, aromatic, ripe coffee beans. He eats them in such quantities that the grains do not have time to be digested and leave through the digestive tract as a whole. And such fermentation of coffee beans only improves the taste, enhances the aroma and removes the bitterness.

On the island of Bali, if you go along the road, you can come across an inscription - coffee luwak, agritourism. As a rule, there is a cafe near the road where you can taste a cup of coffee, at the same time listening to the story about the animal with which this wonderful drink is produced. To see everything clearly, there can be an aviary with a couple of luwak cubs nearby. The narrator can mainly tell about these animals in many languages, although he may not know the languages ​​at all. Just memorized phrases that he repeats many, many times. The business is built on the fact that a tourist came, tasted coffee, listened to a story, bought coffee and left. Some guides don't even bother with the details, they know they'll buy coffee anyway.

Some tourists refuse to taste coffee, but only want to see the animals themselves and the process of making such coffee. Cafe owners are often surprised at such requests, but still show and talk about luwaks.

At the very beginning of the production of luwak coffee, the animals lived in the forest and came only to eat the best and ripe coffee beans on the plantation. The plantation owners themselves simply picked up the coffee beans processed by the luwaks and cleaned them. Back then, beans were very expensive, since you can't tell wild luwak where to go and leave the processed coffee beans in the intestines. Therefore, people went all over the plantation and looked for them, and it was very difficult to find them. There is one more thing - luwak from other fruits, coffee beans - this is the last thing that the animal collected when it wanted to eat.

How is Luwak coffee made now?

Nowadays, luwak coffee is made on special farms, where the animals are kept in special cages. Farmers also earn money by catching these predatory animals. If they see a hole, they smoke it with the smoke of a luwak and then sell it to the farm.

A farm is a backyard where cages with adult luwaks are located. They are fed bananas in the morning and go to bed during the day. At this time, sacks of coffee berries are brought to the farm and after sleep they are given to the animals. In such no longer wild conditions, it is not clear whether Luwak chooses the most ripe and delicious berries. Of course, he can leave bad berries not eaten, but he probably does not select the most ripe ones. Therefore, the myth that luwak is only ripe and the best coffee berries remains only a fairy tale. When the luwak eats berries, he constantly, in the process of chewing, spits out the skins and the owners are obliged to carefully select these skins from the trays, that the luwak ate only berries. Basically, luwak eats up to a kilogram of coffee berries at a time. From this kilogram, only 50 g of green beans are obtained. Three or four people are involved in feeding the animals, who then select processed grains from trays, clean them, wash them and dry them. And already late in the evening, the luvaks are fed with the main meal - rice with chicken.

The grains themselves are washed out after processing and manually cleaned from the film. They sell grain in bags. Europeans buy Luwak coffee, selling this drink in their homeland for $ 300 per kilogram.

On the farms, the luwaks are very closely watched. The cells are clean and odorless, they are constantly washed and cleaned. In Indonesia, keeping luwaks at home can be legal. There are no clandestine farms, so it is possible to keep them clean and tidy. The animals themselves are not tamed, like dogs, they do not go to the hands and no contact with them occurs. The coffee after processing and before sale is also sent to the laboratory for certification and heavy metals content.

As for the yield, it is only 6 months - from April to September. During the rest of the year, Luwaks are only looked after in anticipation of the next profitable period. In Indonesia itself, a kilogram of green beans is $ 77, and roasted beans are $ 160.

In Bali, it is not difficult to taste Luwaka coffee. Almost everywhere along the road there are tents where you can taste this drink for $ 3 a cup. You can also buy this coffee in supermarkets, for only $ 10 per 100 grams. But for some reason it is sold in the "wine" section.

Now money plays a big role in a person's life. I would even say that we spend most of our time looking for the most profitable business. Everyone is especially interested in the business that will bring money in a short time.

Most people think little about the ways to achieve wealth, and this sometimes brings problems. Any business is built not only on fast and cheap ways. Much depends on quality, and it cannot be achieved with readily available methods.

Incredible way to make money

In our modern age, we have learned to make money on everything, not only on large and small production. The availability of the Internet made it possible to make money even on pets. To sell absolutely everything, there would be a desire, but there will always be a buyer.

Returning to the topic of pets, not all owners keep them out of the kindness of their soul. Many people make money on them, you have often seen advertisements for the sale of puppies or kittens, a rare breed with an ancient pedigree. And how many such scammers are there among sellers.

The Internet greatly facilitated access to information, communication at a distance, but also made it possible for fraudulent schemes to flourish unhindered. Therefore, when buying something online, work only with trusted sites, protect yourself.

The latest innovative way to improve your financial situation at the expense of a pet is the maintenance of a musang, or better several. Ask who is this? Otherwise, it is called a luwak animal that produces.

I'm sure you are wondering what the little animal has to do with the production of coffee? Let's start in order.

Who is Luwak?

Musang is a small animal, dark gray in color with thick and coarse hair, with black stripes along the body. He loves warm tropical climates because he lives on palm trees. She has many names:

• Malay marten;
• Palm civet.

But most often she is known in the world as Luwak.

Places where animals live are:

• Islands of Java and Borneo;
• South.

They live on palm trees, and do not create flocks. They intersect with their relatives only during the mating season. Since males and females have testicular-shaped scent glands, it is sometimes said that these animals are hermaphrodites. For a long time, they were considered pests in their homeland.

Despite the fact that these mammals are omnivores, they eat a variety of foods:

• Various fruits;
• Small insects;
• The bats;
• Small birds and their eggs;
• Also worms;
• Small rodents like squirrels and their babies;
• Snakes;
• Lizards.

Luwak's favorite treats are coffee beans.

For some time they tried to exterminate them by all available means. The fact is that the animals lead an active life at night, and it is rather difficult to catch them. Making their way to coffee plantations, they choose only the most delicious and ripe beans. During the day, the animal sleeps, laying in the weaving of vines and small branches.

Unfortunately, it is not known who this original turned out to be. The main thing is that, having tasted this coffee, gourmets found it the most amazing. The coffee taste is reminiscent of vanilla and chocolate, without being bitter.

In addition to the production of an expensive type of unusual coffee, musangs bring other benefits to people. By settling not far from people, in stables and other outbuildings, they help get rid of small rodent pests. So these are quite pleasant neighbors, and even with the opportunity to earn money on them.

The scheme of production of the most expensive coffee

How does this unusual taste in coffee come about? According to the observations of scientists, coffee beans, passing through the intestines of luwaka, are processed by a special enzyme - "cebitin". Thanks to him, the bitterness inherent in coffee leaves, while leaving the rest of the special taste, plus vanilla complements it.

Under natural conditions, luwak, or in Latin paradoxurus hermaphroditus, produces only a few kilograms of such coffee per year. So residents and manufacturers make a lot of effort to carefully collect the resulting product and send it for further processing. That is why its cost starts from $ 400 to $ 1500.

Despite the fact that Kopi Luwak coffee is produced in such an unusual and perhaps even unpleasant way for many. Few people enjoyed watching the entire production and processing process.

Most people prefer not to think about where the coffee comes from, but simply enjoy the unusual taste of the final product. Hence the great popularity of coffee only all over the world. Therefore, many coffee companies try to produce it artificially.

There are entire Luwak farms in Asian countries

Only a captive animal of the civerrids family produces less aromatic and tasty coffee. After all, the food of the animal in captivity is different from the usual, it eats what is given, without choosing the best, as in freedom.

The closest in taste characteristics to wild is the Vietnamese coffee "Chon". This is all thanks to the technology of manual selection of coffee beans, only the best are fed to martens.

Some manufacturers tried to recreate rare coffee in laboratory conditions, but nothing came out synthetically processed with civet, and in the end did not give the desired result. Most likely, other enzymes found in the intestines of the little marten also affect coffee.

Unusual "manufacturer"

Wikipedia gives a detailed description of the animal's life. And below you can see a photo of this cute creature. Luwak is quickly tamed, even lives on people, on roofs or near growing trees. And you don't have to put him in a cage.

Making thousands of dollars with an exotic animal

Recently, it has become popular to breed Luwak, many entrepreneurs earn hundreds of thousands of coffee martens. In content, this is not a whimsical creature, and omnivorous. Although he chooses only the best from food.

But if you want to get the best coffee in the end, then it is worth building the conditions closest to natural wild nature, then the demand will only increase.

The best part is that it is quite easy to breed musangs, the pregnancy in females is short only two months and he brings from two to four cubs. Therefore, it will not be difficult to develop an extensive production of exotic coffee. But if you want to be unmatched in your production, put more effort into creating comfortable conditions for the habitat of palm martens.

Interesting story

After all, living in different climatic conditions, their body is differently structured, and it is not known what viruses they carry. And it is quite difficult to legally obtain permission to import such an animal. So many certificates and permits need to be collected that in the end many simply abandon the idea of ​​establishing such an animal.

Therefore, the smuggling business is so flourishing. People do not understand that getting a crocodile without knowing how to keep it can lead to a lot of problems. It was just such problems that my friend got, who decided to bypass the law to buy an exotic kitty, to be more precise, a “Velvet wild cat”.

But they brought her a completely different animal. Instead of the chosen little cat, she was delivered a "Bornean cat", it turned out later. In general, she paid a decent amount of money for this fluffy miracle.

Problems began literally a couple of days later.

How to take care of her was not really explained to her, and on the Internet she was looking for information about a completely different species of feline. And no one explained to her that both the owner and the animal needed to be vaccinated against various infections, most of which are transmitted through a bite or cut from the claws.

Believe me, wild cats are different from domestic ones, especially those that were forcibly pulled out of their familiar environment and were not tamed to humans. So my friend suffered from her lack of information.

This story ended rather sadly, firstly, the animal got sick due to improper care. Secondly, his mistress became seriously ill with a severe fever due to a cut on her arm left by a wild cat.

Of course, they managed to cure both of them, but after being discharged from the hospital, the acquaintance was dragged to different authorities for a long time and was fined a serious amount for the illegal import of an animal.

I can say one thing: you shouldn't chase the exotic, the result may not please you

If you admire wild animals so much, then go to the zoo or visit the tourist Safari, where you can safely enjoy the wild nature.

Hope my advice helps you. Thanks to all my subscribers, your opinion is important to me, so write your questions, I will be happy to answer them. Share useful interesting articles with your friends and subscribe to. See you.

Text- agent Q.

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Coffee is a favorite drink of the inhabitants of the Earth. It is with him that the morning of many Russians begins. Someone likes instant coffee, someone loves brewed coffee. Someone prefers to grind the grains themselves and cook in a Turk. What can I say, a matter of taste. And real connoisseurs of this drink prefer to drink the most expensive coffee in the world, paying tribute to fashion and the established image of a coffee lover. What varieties are most quoted by those who are interested in this question?

Top five

Actually, there are only two main coffee varieties - Arabica and Robusta. The former is believed to have a finer flavor and less caffeine than robusta. The second, cheaper, bitter and sour, contains more caffeine. The most common in the world is arabica. How much does coffee cost? How is its price formed? Here are just some of the data, a kind of hit parade of expensive coffee.

Fifth place

The fifth place on this list is taken by "Blue Mountain" - coffee, the price per kilogram of which reaches $ 90. It is produced in Jamaica and is famous for its mild taste without hints of bitterness. As a basis, it is used to make the famous Tia Maria liqueur.

Fourth place

The fourth is Fazenda Santa Ines. Comes to $ 100 per kilo. It is produced by hand in Brazil (Minas Gerais state). It differs from others in the sweet aftertaste of berries and caramel.

Third place

Third - coffee "St. Helena" (there is such an island, also famous for the fact that Napoleon was in exile there). It is made from the fruits of the same Arabica, which, however, grow only in this place. Coffee is famous for its subtle fruity aftertaste.

Second place

The second place in our hit parade is "Esmeralda", the most expensive type of coffee obtained with traditional, we emphasize, processing. The price per kilogram reaches $ 200! It is produced in the mountains of Panama, the western part of it. It has an original flavor believed to be the result of careful harvesting and a cool climate.

The most expensive coffee is excrement?

And finally, the most “valuable” one is “Kopi Luwak”. You can translate the first word as, in fact, coffee. The second word is the name of the animal, thanks to which the most expensive coffee in the world appears. The fact is that it is "produced" with the help of the African palm civet very unusual. The animals (resembling squirrels in appearance) eat the berries of the coffee tree. Further - everything passes through the intestines of the civet, while the coffee beans remain undigested.

The most expensive coffee in the world comes from Indonesia. Its plantations are located on the islands of Java and Sumatra. The farmers of these plantations harvest the ripe fruit in a traditional manner. After that, they feed the civets, which are kept in special enclosures. Animals eat them with pleasure. Then, when the coffee beans themselves come out along with the excrement, they are cleaned, washed, dried. Later - lightly fried.

The most expensive coffee in the world, obtained from the vital activity of Indonesian civets, is famous for its very delicate aroma. Natural enzymes give it a particularly mild flavor. The retail price for a cup of such a drink can go up to $ 50. And the cost of a kilogram is up to a thousand.

Limited supply

Only about five hundred kilograms of Kopi Luwak beans enter the coffee markets each year. Therefore, it is so appreciated. It's all about rarity and elitism, and, of course, about taste. What epithets do sellers and manufacturers elevate the dignity of this coffee: caramel, with a cherry flavor, a drink of the gods, with the aroma of vanilla and chocolate. In any case, this is a "premium" class drink, of course, which is in good demand among the most zealous adherents of coffee drinking, like everything else elite and rare.

Historical perspective

There is even a legend about the origin of this "drink of the gods". It is said that during the colonial era, the planters forbade the workers from taking coffee beans from the plantations due to its high cost. Then people began to pick up coffee specially processed by civets from the ground (it was already impossible to sell it). The grains were washed, dried, and ground. They brewed such coffee and drank. Then one of the white planters tried this drink for the poor. Struck by the delicate taste, he began to promote the product to the market. Since then, "Kopi Luwak" delights drink lovers with its unique taste.

By the way, in Vietnam, for example, there is an analogue of the famous "Luwak" - coffee called "Cheon". It is cheaper and done in a similar way. This type of coffee is said to have an even more pronounced flavor of beans processed with the enzymes of the local species of the animal.

African civet

Thus, the main producer of the expensive product is the civet itself. The animal belongs to the same family as the mongoose, outwardly even resembles it. Although in habits it is more like a cat. The civet spends most of its life in trees. Like a cat, she knows how to put her claws into the pads. Locals often tame civets, and they get along well with people: they drink milk, live in houses, respond to nicknames, regularly catch rodents, sleep at the feet of the owner, in general, they turn into pets. This animal is also used as a source of musk used in the perfumery industry. And, of course, for the production of elite coffee.

They say that the best is from the wild civets that make their way to the plantations at night. And in the morning, as a thank you from the animals, the farmers collect excrement under the coffee bushes as raw materials for the production of the "drink of the gods." Each civet can eat up to one kilogram of coffee berries per day. At the “exit”, this can only give up to fifty grams of processed grains. I must say who civets eat animal food, and not just berries. Domesticated civet diets include chicken, for example. They are nocturnal animals. And they usually don't breed in captivity. Among other things, the enzyme, so popular with coffee lovers, animals can only produce for six months. The rest of the time they are kept "in vain" or even released into the wild, so as not to feed in vain. And then they are caught again.

A new word in coffee production

At the moment, according to some reports, the civet has lost the palm to elephants, from whose excrement, it turns out, elite coffee is also produced in Thailand. The technology is similar, but this type of coffee is called "Black Tusk"! Bon appetit, everyone!

It happened back in the distant colonial times in Indonesia. Then the Dutch, who occupied the territories of the now Indonesian islands, forbade local farmers to consume coffee from the "Dutch plantations". And Indonesians, by the way, love coffee. We lived with a Balinese family in Ubud, where the owner's wife prepared breakfast for us every morning. So, they always brewed fresh natural coffee for me in the morning (not Luwak, of course, but ordinary one :)), not because I asked, but because this is what is customary. That is, the people in those parts respect natural coffee very much, and it was so in the old days. When the Dutch banned locals from picking coffee on their territory, farmers had to look for individual coffee beans on the ground where they could find them. These were the feces of luvaks, local martens. Over time, people realized that this kind of coffee tastes much better than regular coffee.

Since then, Indonesia, and in particular the island of Bali, has been one of the main supplying regions of this type of coffee to this day. The favorable climate and the spread of palm martens created excellent conditions for the appearance of Luwak coffee in these parts. And indeed, going around the island of Bali on my own motorcycle, here and there I noticed signs with the inscription "Kopi Luwak". A particularly large concentration of such farms is in the northeast of the island, in the area of ​​the village of Kintamani, as well as along the road that leads to the Pura Besakih temple.

So we went to the Batur volcano and on the way noticed the inscription "Kopi Luwak". I had already heard a lot about this coffee, and therefore it was incredibly interesting for me to see everything myself. I stopped at the entrance to find out how much a visit costs. It turned out you didn't need to pay anything! The entire walk and excursion are free, only a cup of coffee for a tasting costs money - 50,000 rupees, i.e. about $ 5. Well, quite a reasonable price in my opinion. In Russia, in any coffee shop, a regular espresso will not be cheaper. So I parked my bike in the shade and went deep into the green thickets.

The entire territory of the farm is a cozy green corridor with a variety of plants.
Here you can see how different crops grow - from cocoa to vanillin. Everything is marked with tablets, so those who are especially interested in botany will definitely be interested in how this or that type of plant grows. And for an ordinary person far from botany, it is interesting to see a garden with pineapples, for example :)

Note that my three-year-old was the first to notice pineapples =) So, even without reading, you will quite recognize the familiar fruit. But to the majority, the tablets are still to help, tk. a lot looks like ordinary grass))
For me, nettle turned out to be more noticeable =)


Here it is slightly different, but the shape of the leaves and small needles on them give out the stinging plant familiar to us from childhood.

And, of course, coffee grows here. How can it be without him. Here are these pretty, almost bunches :)

Various sorts of coffee are grown here to be shown to visitors. But only arabica is used for the production of Luwak coffee. The fastidious animal does not recognize other varieties.

Here is the very selective gourmet marten.

Honestly, I was conquered by this beast. Mordakha is incredibly cute, I just wanted to lovingly tug at his fur =))

Several furry animals sat in a cage. We put them here again only to show them to visitors. Of course, there can be no talk of any large-scale production. A couple of martens will not cope with the volumes for sale, no matter how much they eat and how much they poop after.

I wondered if it was common for Musangs to sit in cages like this. To which the employee confidently replied that no, no, only free musangs produce coffee. They say they walk among the jungle, eating wild-growing coffee, and then people collect their feces. I doubt it very much, because it’s not enough human resources to collect these inconspicuous poop (sorry, but you cannot throw out the words from the song) among the dense thickets. Moreover, I assumed that there would be some sort of coffee plantations, but it turned out that there were such forests around.


Where will the little animals look for Arabica?

Previously, coffee was really extracted in a "wild" way, but now, more often than not, unfortunate martens are put in cages and fattened on the spot. And if in nature these mammals choose only selected Arabica berries, then they have to eat something in their cells. Therefore, today this method of producing Luwak coffee, although it reduces its cost, but at the same time decreases the quality. Quite a predictable pattern in my opinion. It seems to me that it would be more logical to plant fields of coffee, to enclose the entire territory with a fence and let these martens rush there. It seems like they live in freedom and eat the best coffee at their own discretion. It is again easier to collect waste after them, after all, the territory is limited. Why this was not done for me remained a mystery, but apparently there are reasons ...

We were allowed to feed the musang. Ripe coffee berries were pinned on a stick by a farm employee so that the animal would not bite his hand. Both Mishutka and I fed the luwak a few fruits =)


See how he bends for a coffee berry =)

As soon as I saw, the eyes immediately lit up :)

Well, with what pleasure he grunted arabica! Even I feel like looking at this photo :)))


The berry really looked ripe and juicy, maybe that's why there was such a stir, or maybe the belly was just hungry :(

The animal fell a little, only a few berries, but he also wanted sweets =)


Notice the red berry skin below. Luwak spat out the outer shell of the coffee and ate only the grain!

And I have a question: "How do they gorge themselves on these grains?" After all, they are not processed in his stomach. Actually, they come out only in a slightly modified form.

Yes, like that. Grain came in - grain came out :) And this coffee gets its unique aroma due to enzymes that are in the gastrointestinal tract of the palm marten, and which, naturally, the coffee grains are impregnated, getting inside the Arabica eater. Later I found out that martens also do not refuse fruits, and moreover, they are not vegetarians even once, so and so!

Found feces are thoroughly washed, cleaned, and then fried.

I’m sure you would no longer distinguish it from ordinary coffee in appearance if this was poured into a jar. Doesn't look like poop at all;)

After the roasted grains are ground. The old way is in a mortar.


Mishutka, of course, here is trying more to hold the log than to grind :)))

But he perfectly manages to cope with the next stage - sifting.


Today, of course, this entire process is automated.

And now, in fact, the coveted jar of coffee at a cost of several hundred dollars.

And then the burning question arises: "How to make Luwak coffee?" Many people ask about this, because all the aroma and taste apparently does not appear with standard cooking methods. In Bali, I specially filmed this process, because undoubtedly he deserves attention. For making Luwak coffee, the Balinese use this device.

Water is poured into the flask, coffee is placed on top, a fire is ignited below.

Then this unit is closed with a glass cube. The water boils on the fire and steam goes through a special tube into a bottle with ground coffee.

Here this water accumulates and this is how Luwak coffee is brewed. A whole alchemy, no less!

It seems to me that no coffee machines can replace this technology, and the only, even remotely, but similar method is brewing according to the principle of Turkish coffee directly on the fire.

Hooray! Ready!! Well, shall we dare to take a sip? ;)

I have repeatedly come across reports from other travelers from similar farms, but none of them fed the luwak, no one saw how coffee was brewed in the traditional way, and no one could distinguish Luwak coffee from the usual one. Indeed, in taste it practically does not differ from the average Arabica. But the richness and aroma of this coffee exceeds the usual one at times! How did I understand this? We were lucky that on this farm they showed us so much and gave us a try, because we accidentally got here and how lucky !! Because it was here that we were not just poured a cup of coffee for 5 bucks, we were given a whole tasting table.

In addition to a cup of Luwak coffee, they brought us a cup of regular coffee for comparison. Everything is known by comparison, as you know. And this is how you can fully experience the difference between regular coffee and Luwak coffee. The taste of Luwak, as I have already written, is richer and more aromatic, but at the same time this coffee is not stronger, i.e. saturation is not manifested due to strength.

I, frankly, expected something different. The fact is that my mother brought Luwak coffee from Vietnam. With a photo of the animal on the pack, everything is as it should be :) Many people say that the Vietnamese Luwak with a kind of chocolate flavor, they say, is really exclusive. Indeed, the coffee brought by my mother has a chocolate shade. Just a caveat, she would never have paid even hundreds of dollars for this rather large package of coffee. Then it is not clear what kind of coffee it is, something like "Luwak" is written, but how can elite coffee cost a penny, for which it is sold in Vietnam? The answer probably lies in the now known fact that methods have been developed for the artificial aromatization of coffee with civet. It is the artificial flavor that is felt in the Vietnamese "chocolate" Luwak !! Then the price of this coffee is explained there.
In Bali, however, absolutely no additional flavoring shades, except for coffee, are felt, only a special deep saturation. That is why it was surprising to me, because before I had tried this type of coffee, but the taste was completely different. So from my own experience, I tend to think that Vietnamese coffee is a fake. Not all, probably, because Vietnam is also a supplier of the Luwak variety, but cheap options with artificial flavors have flooded the local market, and tourists are sold it, nothing personal, just business) Remember that Luwak coffee is produced all over the world only 700 kg per year ! It cannot be cheap a priori! Don't be fooled by attractive prices, this is an indicator of deception and poor quality.

I will continue about the tasting. The photo above shows that there are many cups of drinks in front of Mishutka. That is, in addition to the usual coffee and Luwak coffee, we also tried coffee with ginseng, coffee with chocolate, coffee with coconut, coffee with vanilla, tea with ginger, tea with lemon, tea with lemongrass and hibiscus tea. Mmmmm, how delicious it was! Mishutka and I blew everything out =) Except for tea with ginger, because well, it's very tart and even spicy. All herbs are grown here, therefore they offer to try everything.

And a wide variety of coffee options are already stored in cans.

After walking and tasting, we went to the exit. On the way, we were not persistently offered to look at coffee in their shop, but I immediately said that there was no money =) The employee did not offer any more, i.e. there was no purpose to sell something, I also really liked it on this farm. I definitely recommend this place for exploring the production of Kopi Luwak.

The farm is called Lakshmi. Along the straight road "Ubud - Kintamani" (if you go through Tegallalng), along the street Jl. Raya Tegal Suci, there is such a shield.


It is worth focusing on it. There is also a picture of the goddess Lakshmi, and almost at the very entrance to the farm sits Ganesha (Hindu god with the head of an elephant).

Up! At the request of the PM, I nevertheless decided to mark this farm on the map.