Kopi Luwak coffee – the world’s most expensive coffee, and worth every penny.

First, let me thank the folks at Cat’s Ass Coffee for sending us a sample of this unique and wonderful coffee.

If you are wondering, yes, this is the coffee widely reported on because the beans pass through the digestive tracts of wild cats.

For a more complete story, here’s what you’ll read at Wikipedia.

"Kopi luwak, or civet coffee, is coffee made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract. A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp.

In its stomach, 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, keeping their shape.

After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness, widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world."

OK, now that you know all about it, it’s time to forget about the defecation part. You’ll never enjoy this coffee if you obsess over where it has been.

In fact, my fiancée, who is the better coffee taster of the two of us, at first refused to even try this coffee.

But she did, and we both loved it.

The first thing you notice about Kopi Luwak coffee beans is that they feel different – lighter and somehow more brittle. And when you open the bag you get this slight aroma of chocolate, which gives you a hint of what’s to come.

After grinding and brewing the beans, we let the coffee sit for a few minutes to cool, and then took our first tastes.

Well, it is a very different coffee, and it tastes marvelous.

It’s a smooth brew, with an even taste profile and no sharp edges.

That familiar coffee bitterness is wrapped up in a mild chocolate flavor. If most mild coffees have the taste profile of milk chocolate, Kopi Luwak tastes like a high quality dark chocolate, sweet with a hint of bitterness at the same time.

It goes down very smoothly, and every sip is a delight. It is smooth, mild and sweet, with a gentle hint of bitterness.

As always, we then went on to try it with a touch of cream and sugar. Well, that ruined it completely, turning it into just another mild coffee.

To really enjoy Kopi Luwak coffee, drink it black. It’s sweet enough on its own.

At $79.99 for 100 grams, this won’t become our daily brew, but we will be buying some for special occasions, and to give as gifts to a lucky few friends.

You can learn more and buy at CatsAssCoffee.com.

About the author: Nick Usborne, aka Coffee Detective, is a writer and long-time coffee enthusiast. Read more…