THE MAIN PROCESSES OF WILD KOPI LUWAK
In general, the processes of producing Wild Kopi Luwak are similar to other coffees. The difference is in the process of natural fermentation of beans in the digestive tract of Luwak. Here are the main processes of Wild Kopi Luwak:
Wild civets consume ripe coffee cherries – Wild civets select and eat red colored coffee cherries containing fruit and seed, but beans inside pass through their system undigested.
Collecting coffee beans– The undigested beans from the civets are collected by farmers. They usually collect the beans 2 or 3 times a day.
Light drying coffee beans (indirect sunlight) – The beans are placed on bamboo trays and then dried under indirect sunlight to reduce the water content in the beans to 16%. The process takes between 2 to 7 days.
Cleaning the beans– The coffee beans are washed thoroughly with water to clean all dirt on the beans. The cleaning processes are done repeatedly for more than 7 times until the beans are clean.
Drying coffee beans (direct sunlight) – The beans are put on bamboo trays and dried under direct sunlight for about 3 to 7 days depending upon the availability of the sunlight. This process aims to reduce the water content in the beans further.
Removing skins from the beans – The next stage is to peel the beans from their skins. It is done by using a traditional device made from rubber. The beans are pressed and rubbed by hand using this rubber device until all the skins on the beans are peeled off. The result is green coffee beans.
Drying the green coffee beans (direct sunlight) – The green beans are then dried again under direct sunlight to reduce the water content in the beans to around 12-13%. This drying process must be taken carefully so that the beans do not break.
Sorting the coffee beans – The next stage is the sorting process. The process is aimed to separate the beans from all kinds of dirt, e.g sands and dust and to grade the beans based on sizes, shapes and quality.
Packaging the green coffee beans– The green coffee beans are then vacuum packed in special packaging which has a one-way valve (to release any trapped air in the bag) and a zipper (to open/close the bag).
Storing the green coffee beans– The green coffee beans are then stored and ready for sale.
