Honestly, I had never heard of it until just now.

Here’s the lowdown for those unaware (emphases added):

Kopi luwak (pronounced [ˈkopi ‘luak]) or civet coffee is coffee made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract. A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet’s intestines the beans are then defecated, having kept their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness, widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world.

Typically, when I see any type of food whose description contains the words “are then defecated” I tend to, well you know, not like that.

The process does sound intriguing though, and if it truly does taste as good as its price-tag implies, then I’d love to try some. The fact that it is categorized alongside Blue Mountain coffee does give me pause though. I’ve had the fabled Jamaica Blue Mountain, which I bought in Jamaica no less, and although it is very good, it’s certainly not worth the exorbitant price-tag, in my opinion. So the fact that this, ehem, repurposed coffee is now being blended with Blue Mountain and sold for $100 a cup honestly makes me a bit skeptical.