About Us

Cluwak - Tasting is Believing!

Cluwak roaster was established in 1989.  Since then we have delighted many coffee enthusiasts around the world with our premium wild Kopi Luwak (Coffee Luwak) beans. The Cluwak team travelled all over Indonesia to search for the perfect cluster of non-caged Kopi Luwak beans. Such specificity has positioned Cluwak as one of the best Kopi Luwak providers to coffee connoisseurs around the world. Our Gold and Black Label beans are used at high-end gourmet cafes in Europe, US and Japan, where the average price of an espresso cup of Kopi Luwak is usually around $120 per cup.

What Makes Cluwak Special?

We pride ourselves in maintaining high quality standards for the production of Kopi Luwak, as well as supporting local Sumatran farmers.

Sourcing     

Cluwak specializes in sourcing 100% authentic wild Kopi Luwak (Coffee Luwak) gourmet coffee beans derived from the natural habitat of the Asian Palm Civet in Sumatra, Indonesia. The stressed-free, freely roaming wild palm civet is a one of the key factors to producing our unique flavoured coffee beans. The processed beans, or green coffee beans, are sourced directly from traditional farmers, in the wild forest of Bengkulu (which we refer to as Gold Label) and Gayo (which we refer to as Black Label). These two selected varieties (Gold and Black Labels) are known to deliver "the smoothest and the most exquisite taste a cup of coffee can be" (Francois Mignon - Professional Barista).

Why Cluwak Stands Out

Since the popularity of gourmet coffee - Kopi Luwak - has increased, there has been a surge of farmers setting up cages to breed the animal in captivity. These captivated Civet cats are force fed with coffee berries, and the output is then collected for Kopi Luwak.  This is known as caged Kopi Luwak. This type of intensive farming is quite different from traditional farming because the natural selection process does not come into play, so the beans are of poor quality compared to beans collected from the wild.

Cluwak beans DO NOT come from caged Kopi Luwak. We source our beans only from the wild where the Civet animals are free to roam in the plantation to pick the best ripe coffee berries. As the Civets are stress-free, the natural enzymes required to enhance the beans flavor are optimized.

A combination of authentic wild beans, optimal enzyme action, stringent quality control and unconventional phased roasting processes differentiates Cluwak from all other Kopi Luwak providers.

Watch Out for the Fakes!

It is unfortunate that there are many fake Kopi Luwak on the market. Other providers use only a fraction (as little as 2%) of Kopi Luwak combined with normal beans and sell them as Kopi Luwak beans. Our agents closely monitor every batch of unprocessed beans to ensure that Cluwak remains the sole provider of 100% authentic Coffee Luwak beans. Our Gold and Black Label roasted beans remain the most sought after beans from upscale market, as well as professional barista, since 1989.

Processing

Cluwak coffee beans are meticulously selected from the wild forest of Indonesia where a population of Palm Civet dominates the coffee plantations. The beans undergo stringent quality control and hygienic standards to ensure that they are free from impurities. Our unconventional phased roasting process, between 255 to 272 degrees Celsius, also ensures optimal quality. The overall process, from collection to roasting, are understandably labor intensive (as compared to normal/commercial beans). The additional processes and quality standards inevitably makes Cluwak among the most expensive coffee beans in the world. Given that the supply of 100% authentic wild Kopi Luwak beans is limited, you may have noticed that our Gold or Black labels are occasionally out of stock. Should this happen, you are welcome to contact us for an estimated time of availability.

The Process

Characteristics of bean selections: Only the ripe ones please!

The Asian Palm Civet (known as Luwak) roams naturally in the wild forest of Sumatra. These creatures are known to be picky with their diet; hence they would strive to select only the best, ripest, berry fruits, which contain the coffee beans. They would gobble entire berries, with the creature naturally extracting the berries' flesh for the nutrients, leaving the beans intact. The beans undergo an enzymatic action at an optimal temperature, which triggers natural reactions to enhance the chemical composition.

Local farmers collect the end products and initiate the intensive processes :

Cleaning raw green coffee beans: Green, and only the best green!

At this stage, the product is known as raw green coffee beans. The green coffee beans are cleaned as soon as they reached the warehouse. The green coffee beans are crumbled and separated from the other residues via high-pressured chlorinated and iodine solutions. Washing with low-pressure fresh water follows this process. The batch is then poured into a vat for a preliminary density sorting. High-density green coffee beans are then collected and these undergo a drying process.

Drying green coffee beans: At exactly 11% moisture!

The drying process is critical in determining the quality of the end product. If the rate of moisture extraction is too fast, the green coffee bean texture would become brittle and would result in cracked beans. On the other hand, if the moisture extraction is too slow, it may result in undesirable fermentation. It may take up to 2 weeks for Coffee Luwak beans to get the optimal moisture content of about 11%, depending on the climatic conditions. The green coffee beans are dried in natural sunlight with plenty of fresh air, mounted on trays on the large patios. The process of drying green coffee beans in large patios allow beans to be rotated evenly.

Selection: Only the perfectly shaped beans!

In this step, the dried green coffee beans are screened for the bean size, shape, density or undesirable residues. The green coffee beans are placed on silos and are run through pressured air to filter out cracked/low-density beans. Only the perfectly shaped beans are collected.
The final step involves the separation of defective beans from the batch of green coffee beans. This step requires experienced trained eyes to differentiate the right coloured - green coffee beans. The green coffee beans are then stored in a dark dry place until the roasting process takes place.

Roasting: Unconventional phased process for a differentiated bean!

The roasting process is key to highlighting the beans full aroma, flavor, strength, and colour. Our selected coffee beans are roasted in an unconventional phased process between 255 to 272 degrees Celsius in order to catalyze the natural oil and sugar optimally. The beans also lose most of their moisture and expand into their bright brownish shells. These are cooled down immediately in order to cease any excess reactions.

Packaging: Sealed with a bliss!

Our Coffee Luwak beans are freshly packed in a one-way degassing valve to retain their maximum flavour. The gases are naturally released from roasted beans and the one-way valve only lets the excess air out (to prevent sealed packaging from popping) while also preventing oxygen from coming in.

Together with the labour intensive processes and our stringent quality control standards, the unique, rich aroma of flavoured coffee undoubtedly makes Cluwak (Kopi Luwak) the most expensive coffee in the world and rightfully... the best coffee in the world!

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