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Kopi Luwak beans (click to enlarge) Kopi Luwak: A Gourmet Treasure

Welcome to Kopi Luwak Coffee Online

This website is operated by Heirloom Coffee, LLC, of Medford, MA, USA. Founded in 2005, we are a family-run importing company specializing in the finest and rarest Southeast Asian coffees. This site is devoted solely to our civet coffees, so that we can feature more description and reference material than on our other websites. For information on our other coffee and tea products, you may want to visit our Heirloom Coffee central website.

What is Kopi Luwak coffee?

In Indonesia, the country best known for this type of coffee, "kopi luwak" translates literally as "civet coffee." Kopi Luwak is a process, not a type of coffee.

Most coffees are either named after the species or region or both (Lintong Arabica, Kona, Sulawesi Toraja Peaberry, Costa Rican Terrazu, etc.) There are four coffee species grown commercially, and hundreds of coffee growing regions. However, Kopi luwak is a process, not a coffee species or a region. It refers to any coffee that has been consumed by a Palm Civet, a shy and peaceful relative of the mongoose that is found primarily in Indonesia and the Philippines. Palm Civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) are of the civet family and are not actually cats, foxes or weasels.

Any coffee bean consumed by a civet becomes "kopi luwak." If one civet is eating Arabica and another is eating Robusta, the flavor profile of each coffee will be quite different. However, both coffees will share the unique characteristics brought about by the enzyme action - hints of chocolate, absence of bitterness, accentuated flavor profile and uniquely pleasant persistance on the palate. These changes have been documented and cataloged by a number of university studies (see our Reference section).

We offer a variety of Kopi Luwak coffees that enable you to experience the Kopi Luwak process on all four of the major commercial species of coffee and several different cultivating regions.

What makes Kopi Luwak so special?

Coffee grows as a seed inside a fruit that resembles a cherry. The Palm Civet is a nighttime forager who considers the ripest and sweetest coffee cherries to be a delicacy, which she swallows whole. She only wants the fruit, so the hard green coffee beans are passed through undigested. They are then gathered up, thoroughly cleaned, and roasted like regular coffee beans. Palm Civets have unique natural enzymes in their bellies that permeate the celluloid structure of the hard coffee beans and make it possible for the release during brewing of up to 25 or more otherwise unreachable flavor elements. Also, they neutralize many of the coffee's bitter oils.

The result is the world's smoothest and most flavorful coffee, with exceptionally pleasant recall on the senses, a rare effect that is experienced only with the finest and freshest coffees.

Wildly exaggerated stories about Kopi Luwak abound. You may want to visit our Reference Section for realistic facts and anecdotes about Kopi Luwak coffee.

Is Kopi Luwak safe to drink?

The extraordinary personal care taken in processing Kopi Luwak coffees is unique. As a result, Kopi Luwak coffees have been found by many labs to be the purest and cleanest coffees available. Other (ordinary) coffee that we drink every day is processed in warehouses and factories, and of course will be subject to minor contaminants like any major food product such as corn or wheat. You can be confident that Kopi Luwak coffee is safe and clean.

How do you know it's genuine?

Any seller can provide a certificate, which is only as reliable as the seller. Kopi Luwak is best purchased from a source that has been in business for a long period of time offering a variety of coffees. These suppliers have a buyer base of thousands of customers and much to lose by selling any product that is not 100% genuine and delicious. We work with producers that are well-known and respected and highly publicized as exemplary sources.

Heirloom Coffee, LLC is proud to present on these pages the most comprehensive selection of authentic Kopi Luwak coffees. Authenticity is guaranteed and we carry no Kopi Luwak coffee that is blended with other coffees. Call us at 781-391-2255 for more information about any of our products. Enjoy the most unique experience in the world for a coffee lover!