The most expensive coffee in the world is literally poop

He most expensive coffee in the world This is not a product extracted from the finest coffee plantations in Colombia and processed under ultra-precise chemical conditions to guarantee the best aroma and taste. It’s essentially coffee coming out of the anus of an Asian mammal known as palm civet. Yes, you read that right. It turns out that there are people who drink it and pay exorbitant amounts of money for it.

Known as civet coffeeor Kopi Luwak In Indonesia, just a kilogram of grain can cost more than 1000 dollars. This is because it is not easy to obtain. Coffee is usually obtained directly from coffee factory. On the other hand, the most expensive coffee in the world first passes through the intestines of an animal, which defecates grains that he could not digest. These beans are used to make coffee.

Understandably, wandering the countryside looking for civet poop isn’t easy. This fully justifies its price. However, in recent years, very unethical methods have been used in its production: civet cats are locked in small cages and forced to eat only coffee beans. This will reduce costs a little, but at what cost? Ethics should also be important.

It’s clear that we need to look for alternatives This has resulted in the most expensive coffee in the world, so a team of scientists from India conducted a study that analyzed the chemical differences between this and other types of coffee. This way you can know what to model in the lab. Because yes, the goal in the future should be to be able to make this product without using animal feces in it.

The history of the most expensive coffee in the world

You may have never wondered where coffee comes from. Whether you have it or not, here’s a reminder. The grains that are ground to make this flavorful drink are actually seeds fruit of the coffee tree. This fruit is a reddish berry known as coffee cherry

When these berries are picked, they go through a stage crushedwhich typically use machines to remove most of the pulp and then the beans are washed to remove any residue. In this way, the seeds, better known as coffee beans, will be ready for roasting or the process chosen in each case. The pulp, in turn, is used to make fertilizer or animal feed.

On the other hand, the process of making the most expensive coffee in the world is completely different. The civet feeds primarily on fruit, although it will also eat rats, shrews, mice, birds, insects, worms, seeds, eggs, reptiles, snails and scorpions, as well as other snacks. He has a great ability climb fruit treeswith palms and fig trees being their favorites. And yet he will not refuse such a good berry as a coffee cherry. And this is where the magic begins.

The civet digests berry pulp well, but not the seeds. Therefore most of these They come out whole, undigested, in the feces.. It is not very known who was the first to infuse these grains. Someone is brave or desperate, sometimes both adjectives can be synonymous. The point is that he discovered what it was the most delicious coffee. One thing led to another, and it eventually became the most expensive coffee in the world.

What are the ethical issues with civet coffee?

Since civet feces are not easy to collect, many coffee producers lock them in small cages and feed them. only from coffee berries. This is a problem on many levels, from the terrible conditions of detention to the poor diet that involves eating a single piece of fruit. These are animals with a very varied diet, so this diet involves many nutritional deficiencies.

Why is civet coffee so delicious?

Scientists from Central University of Kerala analyzed the chemical profile of civet coffee, comparing it with beans obtained from fresh berries, without passing through the digestive system of that animal. It is important to emphasize that in their case they analyzed grains collected from the feces of free-roaming civet cats.

So the first thing that caught their attention was that the coffee beans in the stool were on average much more than fresh berries. This indicates that these animals always select the best berries, which are lost when force-fed in captivity.

On the other hand, although differences in levels protein or caffeinea completely different profile was observed at the levels methyl esters of caprylic and capric acids. Both provide better flavor and a very pleasant aroma similar to dairy products. Its level was higher in civet coffee, which is why it became the most expensive coffee in the world.

What will happen to the most expensive coffee in the world now?

Nothing justifies the degrading treatment that civets are subjected to. So now that we know why coffee tastes so good, scientists hope its properties will help reproduce artificially. Perhaps the costs will even decrease, but, most importantly, to get it, you will not need to lock any animal in a tiny cage. If the rich people who consume it don’t care, they should at least be attracted to the idea that traces of feces aren’t being ground up so they can make good espresso.