Why does Kopi Luwak taste different to other coffees?
There are both technical and practical reasons for the taste of Kopi Luwak. Luwak use their keen sense of smell to select the very best ripe coffee beans. A Luwak will visit a plantation and eat only a fraction of the available beans, leaving any that are inferior or not quite ready on the tree. This means that the beans are individually selected by an animal that is specially adapted for this purpose and is far superior to humans at doing this. Laboratory tests have demonstrated that there is also a qualitative reason why kopi luwak beans taste different. As the beans pass through the digestive tract of the Luwak, the acids in the stomach of the Luwak permeate the bean and leach out some of the proteins in the bean responsible for its bitterness resulting in a sweeter coffee bean.
