Kopi tiam is lighter in colour than normal coffee beans that uses sugar – hence the name 'white coffee'. Kopitiams in Indonesia are very similar to those in Malaysia or Singapore. Originally run by local Chinese people, they can be found in many residential areas. Old-fashioned kopitiams are usually located at shop houses, and often have a quite run-down appearance. The term kedai kopi or warkop (which stands for warung kopi) is more often used. More recently, modern kopitiams have emerged, and can be found in many shopping malls, particularly in big cities such as Jakarta, Medan, Batam and Surabaya. These attract
Kopi Luwak are eaten by a civet for their fruit pulp. After spending about a day and a half in the civet's digestive tract the beans are then defecated in clumps, having kept their shape and still covered with some of the fleshy berry's inner layers. Despite being in contact with faeces and pathogenic organisms, the beans contain negligible amounts of the enteric (pathogenic) organisms associated with feces. Moreover, the "cherry" or endocarp surrounding the bean is not completely digested by the luwak, and after being collected, the farmer performs thorough washing and removes the endocarp. The final roasting of the beans