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S T E FA N M A G D A L I N S K I OFF THE WIRE continued from page 21 CIVET COFFEE COMES UNDER FIRE The tale of kopi luwak is a familiar one to many in the industry. Also known as civet coffee, kopi luwak is a traditional Indonesian coffee made from beans that have been eaten—and defecated—by a small, cat-like mammal called the Asian palm civet. Civets love coffee berries, and they're skilled at eating only the ripest ones. Once the berries are ingested, the coffee beans make their way through the animal's digestive system, where they undergo a fermentation process that—according to civet coffee enthusiasts— makes for a standout brew. Gross, right? Maybe, but the rare kopi luwak sells for upwards of $150 per pound, and the popularity of civet coffee is on the rise. It makes sense: What is rare is often expensive, and in the coffee industry, what's different and exclusive is almost guaranteed to fetch a high price. Some disagree with the coffee's delectability, claiming that despite the novelty of kopi luwak, it simply isn't good. Whether or not civet coffee floats your particular boat, until recently its reputation as an industry must-have was relatively strong. But now the authenticity of civet coffee has come under fire, with fraudulent kopi luwak making its way steadily into the market. A new verification system developed by researchers in Japan seeks to tackle the question of authenticity through metabolomics technology, which allows scientists to verify what they call the "metabolic fingerprint" present in genuine civet coffee. But the hurdles facing this unique product don't end there. A recent BBC news investigation exposed inhumane conditions on Sumatran civet farms, and footage of unhealthy, sometimes injured civets locked in cramped, battery-style cages has the industry rethinking what is usually labeled as a "wild-sourced" delicacy. The footage recorded by the BBC has animal rights activists and coffee enthusiasts up in arms, and as the ethicality of civet coffee is called into question, some are calling for its removal from shelves. Some civet coffee retailers, including U.K. department store Harrods, are taking it upon themselves to investigate the BBC's claims. Meanwhile, in a zealous blog post that ran in The Guardian the same day that the BBC released the civet report, Tony Wild, a former coffee trader and the author of "Coffee: A Dark History," writes that "it is practically impossible to find genuine, wild kopi luwak—the only way to guarantee that would be to actually follow a luwak around all night yourself." Civet coffee carries a high price due to the delicate nature of its cultivation, but the process of collecting the coffee-studded feces of wild civets by no means lends itself to large-scale production. Still, the market is flooded with high-priced kopi luwak. With no system in place to determine whether civets are being allowed to roam wild—or being locked up and force-fed—retailers and consumers may find it difficult to revel in the "wild" nature of this unusual beverage, and the future of kopi luwak remains uncertain. —Regan Crisp OPEN FOR BUSINESS: Portland roaster Stumptown Coffee Roasters opened the doors of its first L.A. retail location, which is attached to the company's new roastery. | Stay up on all the latest headlines with our Weekly News Tasting, posted each Tuesday at freshcup.com 22 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com