Kopi Luwak civets choose which cherries to eat – i.e. those that are most ripe and flawless. Digestive mechanisms may improve the flavor profile of the coffee beans that have been eaten. The civet eats the cherries for the fleshy pulp, then in the digestive tract, fermentation occurs. The civet's protease enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Early production began when beans were gathered in the wild from where a civet would defecate as a means to mark its territory. On farms, civets are either caged or allowed to roam within defined boundaries. Coffee berries
Large Indian civet as valid subspecies by 2005: The validity of "Viverra tainguensis" described in 1997 by Sokolov, Rozhnov and Pham Chong from Tây Nguyên in Gia Lai Province in Vietnam has been seriously questioned, and it is now generally considered a synonym of "V. zibetha". These names are questionable, as the species has not been recorded in the areas where languages are spoken: Large Indian civet The large Indian civet ("Viverra zibetha") is a civet native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The global population is considered decreasing mainly because of trapping-driven