Kopi Luwak other samples, they had nothing remarkable to appraise about it other than it was less acidic and had less body, tasting "thin". Marcone remarked "It's not that people are after that distinct flavor. They are after the rarity of the coffee". Several commercial processes attempt to replicate the digestive process of the civets without animal involvement. Researchers with the University of Florida have been issued with a patent for one such process. Brooklyn-based food startup Afineur has also developed a patented fermentation technology that reproduces some of the taste aspects of Kopi Luwak while improving coffee bean taste and nutritional
Coffee production in Indonesia farmers remove the outer skin from the cherries mechanically, using rustic pulping machines, called "luwak". The coffee beans, still coated with mucilage, are then stored for up to a day. Following this waiting period, the mucilage is washed off and the coffee is partially dried for sale. At least one U.S. manufacturer, soft drink producer Bai, purchases the non-bean remnants of coffee cherries for use in their products. Otherwise, these remnants are discarded. Collectors and processors then hull the coffee in a semi-wet state, which gives the beans a distinctive bluish-green appearance. This process reduces acidity and increases body, resulting