Karnataka Farmers Are Killing The Cats Behind One Of The World’s Rarest Coffee

Cat poop coffee, otherwise known as Kopi Luwak, is one of the world’s rarest and most expensive coffees. The price of a single cup can go up to $80. India is one of five countries in the world (the others being Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) that harvest this rare coffee due to the indigenous Civet Cat. Commonly referred to as cats, the Asian Palm Civet eats berries off coffee trees and excretes them, which is what makes this coffee so special.

Why Do People Drink Coffee Made From Civet Cat Poop?

If you’re wondering ‘why on earth would anyone drink the coffee an animal pooped out?’ you are not alone. However, the reason this strange process is highly respected by coffee connoisseurs around the world is that the Civet’s digestive mechanism only removes the husk of the coffee berry leaving the coffee seeds to undergo a unique fermentation process.

Humans synthesize this process of coffee seed fermentation, however the Civet’s fermentation process is natural process, and thus is considered purer. Moreover, it is commonly thought that Civet Cats only select the best berries from the coffee trees, making their output all the more desirable.

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Apparently this process reduces the bitterness of the coffee and offers a rare flavour profile coffee lovers go crazy for. Unfortunately the author of this article cannot confirm this for sure as he is too poor for an $80 cup of coffee.

Karnataka Killings May Disrupt The Local Ecosystem

Homegrown reached out to an organic coffee grower from the Coorg district of Karnataka who cultivates Kopi Luwak because he understands the value of this strangely coveted coffee. However, what he had to share with us was a sad eye opener. In 2015 Mr. N. G. Thimmaiah collected 10 kg of Kopi Luwak, which he sent to Switzerland for a tidy price. Unfortunately both in 2016 and 2017 his Kopi Luwak coffee production decreased by half to a mere 5 kgs.

Mr. Thimmaiah finally found out the farmers neighboring his plantation had been killing the Civet Cats because they ate their coffee beans. As Mr. Thimmaiah explains, “To them it is very simple, the cats eat their coffee so they kill them.” Mr. Thimmaiah tried to explain to his fellow farmers the value of the coffee to give them an incentive not to kill the Civet Cats, but these farmers already considered Mr. Thimmaiah insane since he grows his coffee organically with zero fertilizer and only uses natural compost. So when he explained to them that the poop these Civet Cats produced was extraordinarily valuable he got laughed out of the proverbial room.

The Civet Cats maintain forest ecosystems since they are fruit eaters and consequently disperse seeds across tropical forests. In some cases, like in Indonesia, the Civet Cats have been invasive and considered pests. However, that is not the case in the Coorg area where they help maintain the natural ecosystem.

[Author’s note: *** It is important to note that in South East Asia Civets are often captured, caged and force fed coffee berries. It is not our intent to promote this cruelty or further the exploitation of this animal. We are referring to naturally harvested excrement.

This article was based on information provided by local farmers. It is not intended to defame or maline any group/person in particular.]

Feature image via Cat Poop Coffee Inc.