Kopi Luwak aromatic civet coffee spread from locals to Dutch plantation owners and soon became their favourite, yet because of its rarity and unusual process, the civet coffee was expensive even during the colonial era. "Kopi" is the Indonesian word for coffee. "Luwak" is a local name of the Asian palm civet in Sumatra. Palm civets are primarily frugivorous, feeding on berries and pulpy fruits such as figs and palms. Civets also eat small vertebrates, insects, ripe fruits and seeds. Producers of the coffee beans argue that the process may improve coffee through two mechanisms, selection and digestion. Selection occurs as the
Cellular waste product as well as by cells called anaerobes that selectively perform anaerobic respiration even in the presence of oxygen. In anaerobic respiration, weak oxidants like sulfate and nitrate serve as oxidants in the place of oxygen. Generally, in anaerobic respiration sugars are broken down into carbon dioxide and other waste products that are dictated by the oxidant the cell uses. Whereas in aerobic respiration the oxidant is always oxygen, in anaerobic respiration it varies. Each oxidant produces a different waste product, such as nitrite, succinate, sulfide, methane, and acetate. Anaerobic respiration is correspondingly less efficient than aerobic respiration. In the absence