‘World’s most expensive coffee’ Kopi luwak to blame for horrific animal conditions in Indonesia
SHOCKING images show the cruel conditions animals in Indonesia are kept in to create the world’s most expensive coffee.
Coffee enthusiasts pay up to £80 for a cup of Kopi Luwak – a speciality drink in Indonesia made from coffee beans that have been digested and excreted by the civet cat.
Unable to digest the coffee beans properly, whole coffee beans often appear in the civet cat’s poop.
Farmers traditionally used to collect the animal’s waste and scour it for coffee beans as a way to make the most of their coffee bean crop.
They discovered that the enzymes in the animal’s stomach changed the flavour of the coffee beans, making a less acidic, smoother drink.
Now the industry for “cat poop coffee” is booming in Bali – it’s one of the main bucket list items for people visiting the country.
But customers often do not realise the trauma a civet goes through for the beans to be produced.
What is Kopi Luwak?
- Kopi Luwak is a drink made from coffee beans that have been partially digested and excreted by the civet, a cat-like animal native to Indonesia
- The civet can’t digest the coffee beans, so they are pooped out in tact
- The beans are then collected and cleaned by farmers, who use them to brew the drink
- Civet dung used to be collected from the wild, but increasingly, the animals are being farmed in bad environments for faster coffee production
- The enzymes in a civet’s digestive tract changes the flavour of the coffee bean, making Kopi Luwak a smooth drink with less acidity than normal
- Kopi Luwak is a Balinese specialty – it is available in many parts of the region
Captured from the wild and kept in squalid conditions in order to produce more coffee, these images show the cute mammals cramped in tiny cages, looking broken.
In one distressing image, a lifeless civet can be seen lying down in the corner of a dirty caged enclosure, as others show more civets in equally distressing conditions in the same location.
‘DEPRIVED OF NUTRITION’
The images were snapped by photojournalist, Aaron Gekoski, 38, whilst in Bali earlier this year.
He said: “To make this coffee, civets are often stolen from the wild.
“They are then kept in cramped and filthy wire cages that damage their paws.
“Often, they are only fed coffee beans and deprived of any nutrition which causes the civets to be malnourished and sick because wild civets climb trees in order to feed on fruit.
“Any of the civets I saw were showing signs of zoochosis – repetitive behaviours displayed by captive animals, such as pacing, biting and bobbing their heads.
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“Although civets are nocturnal, at the tourist attractions they may be kept out in the sun and forced to interact with tourists.”
Aaron says that due to the money made from the delicacy, the cruelty will persist and as a result has set up a new platform for holiday makers to report animal ceutly they see whilst travelling.
He said: “Kopi Luwak is sold throughout the world, fetching up to £80 per cup in coffee shops and restaurants.
“Experts are convinced that kopi luwak from caged animals ends up in the London markets, despite claims the beans are harvested from the wild.
“I have partnered with Born Free Foundation to launch ‘Raise the Red Flag’ this summer, the new platform will allow tourists to report animal cruelty they witness on holiday.”