Coffee beans made from civet cat feces: gourmets still celebrate “Kopi Luwak” as an exotic delicacy. But behind the expensive brew lies animal cruelty – the supposed idyll in Bali is deceptive.
To tourists it seems like the perfect tropical idyll: Coffee gardens in many places in Bali invite you to taste and linger, picturesquely located between rice terraces and peppered with coffee bushes with blood-red berries. Most visitors are attracted by curiosity. They want to try one of the most expensive coffees in the world and then buy it, often beautifully packaged: “Kopi Luwak”. The special thing: The deep black luxury brew was pre-digested.
Luwak coffee is produced from the dung of civet cats that have previously been given the beans to eat. In the intestines they are subjected to wet fermentation with enzymes, which changes their taste. Supposedly this means that the specialty is free of bitter substances and more digestible than normal coffee, and it is said to have a special aroma – “earthy, muddy, mild, syrup-like, rich and with undertones of jungle and chocolate” is what Monty Python star John Cleese describes it as once described.
Only very few holidaymakers on the Indonesian “Island of the Gods” know that countless spotted musangs (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), which actually live as nocturnal predators in the jungle, are the victims of this business. On the farms where the delicacy is mass-produced, up to 100 specimens are sometimes kept in sometimes tiny cages, says Jason Baker, vice president of international campaigns at Peta Asia (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).
Dirty cages and unbalanced diet
Employees of the animal protection organization recently undercover visited some of the farms that supply companies and supermarkets abroad and documented the appalling conditions. The result: “We have been conducting regular research on the topic for ten years, but absolutely nothing has changed,” says Baker. Animal rights activists all over the world have been mobilizing against production practices for a long time – not only in Bali, but also in Sumatra and the Philippines, among others.
The musangs are fed mostly coffee berries and can barely move in their barren, often filthy cages, Peta found. Since they are nocturnal animals, in the wild they would normally hide in tree hollows or holes in the ground during the day. “But in the cages there is no way to avoid the light – and they are often exposed to direct sunlight,” says Baker. The unbalanced diet also affects the animals – in the forest, as omnivores, they would feed on fruits, insects, worms, eggs and small birds, among other things.
“Some civet cats bite themselves or hurt themselves in other ways because they are so stressed,” Baker says. “They also often walk in circles, which is also a sign of stress and frustration.”
Lies for the tourists
The coffee gardens in Bali, which are designed purely for tourists – many of them north of the yoga hotspot Ubud – usually keep one or two spotted musangs in a slightly larger cage. Samples, so to speak, so that customers can get an idea of the exotic species that pre-digested the beans. But even for these animals there is often no place to retreat, no distraction and hardly any space. Nothing but coffee berries that the employees regularly throw at the paws of the spotted musangs.
When asked whether the animals always have to live in such a cage, the same song is played in almost all gardens: “No,” the employees say with a friendly smile. “At night we release them in the jungle and in the morning we catch them again and bring them here.” A few years ago the version was: “We release the civet cats after a few weeks and replace them with others.” This is apparently enough for most tourists to buy “Kopi Luwak” with a clear conscience.
“These are all lies, of course,” says Baker. “But they have to hide the truth, otherwise tourists would stop coming.” He calls it “extremely creative marketing.” The myth of Luwak Coffee is sold to foreign guests as if it were a cultural thing, a Balinese tradition. “But the Balinese themselves don’t usually drink this coffee.”
Peta doesn’t know exactly how the animals are hunted and captured in detail. “We have never received permission from the plantations to come along,” says Baker.
Tons of exports to Germany too
The specialty is also sold in Germany. Internationally, the top prices are up to 1000 euros per kilo. You can buy 100 grams of “Kopi Luwak” online for as little as 30 to 40 euros. Foodies are lured with the assurance that “free-roaming Luwak cats select the best beans in the forest.” After pre-digestion, these would then be collected and further processed by local farmers.
“A huge hoax,” writes the animal and nature conservation organization Pro Wildlife on its website. Experts estimate that all of Indonesia’s wild civet cats together probably only produce around 300 kilograms of “Kopi Luwak” per year, the report says. “That’s not nearly enough to cover the ever-growing demand for the luxury sip every now and then.” Tons of the delicacy are now exported every year. “The industry knows about the immense animal cruelty behind the product – but it should be kept hidden from wealthy customers.”
In Bali, the owners of the coffee gardens are slowly realizing that animal protection campaigns have a deterrent effect on tourists. Cages are now apparently being avoided. Here, individual spotted musangs are apparently exposed, but also completely apathetic on wooden boards. “Why don’t the animals just run away?” asks a visitor. “The specimens we show here are old and weak,” says an employee. “They’re not going anywhere anymore.”