Kopi Luwak "Washington Post" reviewed kopi luwak available to US consumers and concluded "It tasted just like...Folgers. Stale. Lifeless. Petrified dinosaur droppings steeped in bathtub water. I couldn't finish it." Some critics claim more generally that kopi luwak is simply bad coffee, purchased for novelty rather than taste. Massimo Marcone, who performed extensive chemical tests on the beans, was unable to conclude if anything about their properties made them superior for purposes of making coffee. He employed several professional coffee tasters (called "cuppers") in a blind taste test. While the cuppers were able to distinguish the kopi luwak as distinct from the
Civet (perfumery) Civet (perfumery) Civet ("Zibeth"; "Zibet"; "Zibetum"), also known as civet musk, is the glandular secretion produced by both sexes of Viverridae species. A number of viverrid species secrete civet oil in their perineal glands, including the African civet ("Civettictis civetta"), large Indian civet ("Viverra zibetha") and small Indian civet ("Viverricula indica"). Most civet is produced in African farms, where African civets are kept in cages for this purpose. African civets typically produce three to four grams of civet per week. In 2000, civet sold for about five hundred dollars per kilogram. Civet is a soft, almost liquid material. It is