The outcome of this journey that some Indonesian coffee cherries take, in the minds of various connoisseurs, is a superior cup of coffee (though detractors dismiss this notion as pure fad or gimmick). The traditional method of coffee roasting on a civet coffee farm in Indonesia. Judging from the high market demand for civet coffee, and the premium price it commands, that distinctly different flavor seems valued. Some studies suggest the resulting coffee is less bitter and it has a distinctly different flavor than other coffees. On the journey through the digestive tract of the civet, the beans are exposed to enzymes that seep into the beans themselves, creating more amino acids, and shortening the peptides. While human beings love coffee beans in a liquid form, after being ground up and having water pressed through them…or perhaps covered in chocolate, civets would rather just snack on the delicious fruit of the berries, pooping out the beans as waste. Civet cat dung containing coffee and cocoa beans. So, as distasteful as the production process might seem, the end result is a beverage that is completely safe to drink-even though it might highlight why you never want to know too much about how your food and drink were prepared.

The unsavory part might be true, but any bacteria from the journey through this small mammal is eliminated through the process of cleaning and roasting the beans. We know what you’re thinking-a cup of sphincter special doesn’t just seem unappetizing, it seems downright unhygienic. That juicy looking fruit is also where the civet comes into play – they think it looks like a nice snack and that’s where the magic starts. The beans we know and love are harvested from inside these fruits (called coffee cherries) which originated in Arabia. If you were to run across coffee in nature, it would look more like this: But these delicious roasted beans aren’t how coffee appears in nature-there are a few steps between nature and your coffee mug. When you think of coffee, you might envision shiny brown beans, often bought by the pound, freshly ground the aroma a fresh brew wafting through the air or the magical liquid handed to you in a paper cup (for those of us who line up every morning to grab a cuppa joe).

Image: Getty Images Where coffee comes from It’s not quite pooping gold, but for some it’s close. Now that we have cleared that up, let’s take a BIG step back and explain how it all works-after all, this is a beverage that just begs you to ask some questions.

Lintong coffee wild kopi luwak