Jumat, 13 Juni 2014

Sejarah Kopi Luwak (Civet Coffee)

Sejarah Kopi Luwak (Civet Coffee) terkait erat dengan sejarah pembudidayaan tanaman kopi di Indonesia. Pada awal abad ke-18, Belanda membuka perkebunan tanaman komersial di koloninya di Hindia Belanda terutama di pulau Jawa dan Sumatera. Salah satunya adalah bibit kopi arabika yang didatangkan dari Yaman. Pada era "Tanam Paksa" atau Cultuurstelsel (1830—1870), Belanda melarang pekerja perkebunan pribumi memetik buah kopi untuk konsumsi pribadi, akan tetapi penduduk lokal ingin mencoba minuman kopi yang terkenal itu. Kemudian pekerja perkebunan akhirnya menemukan bahwa ada sejenis musang yang gemar memakan buah kopi, tetapi hanya daging buahnya yang tercerna, kulit ari dan biji kopinya masih utuh dan tidak tercerna.
Kopi Luwak - Civet Coffee - Sejarahnya

Biji kopi dalam kotoran luwak ini kemudian dipunguti, dicuci, disangrai, ditumbuk, kemudian diseduh dengan air panas, maka terciptalah kopi luwak. Kabar mengenai kenikmatan kopi aromatik ini akhirnya tercium oleh warga Belanda pemilik perkebunan, maka kemudian kopi ini menjadi kegemaran orang kaya Belanda. Karena kelangkaannya serta proses pembuatannya yang tidak lazim, kopi luwak pun adalah kopi yang mahal sejak zaman kolonial.

Kopi luwak (Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈkopi ˈlu.aʔ]), or civet coffee, refers to the seeds of coffee berries once they have been eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The name is also used for marketing brewed coffee made from the beans.

Producers of the coffee beans argue that the process may improve coffee through two mechanisms, selection and digestion. Selection occurs if the civets choose to eat coffee berries containing better beans. Digestive mechanisms may improve the flavor profile of the coffee beans that have been eaten. The civet eats the berries for the beans' fleshy pulp, then in the digestive tract, fermentation occurs. The civet's proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then defecated with other fecal matter and collected.

The traditional method of collecting feces from wild civets has given way to intensive farming methods in which civets in battery cage systems are force fed the coffee beans. This method of production has raised ethical concerns about the treatment of civets due to "horrific conditions" including isolation, poor diet, small cages and a high mortality rate.A 2013 BBC investigation of intensive civet farming in Sumatra found conditions of animal cruelty. Intensive farming is also criticised by traditional farmers because the civets do not select what they eat, so the beans are of poor quality compared to beans collected from the wild. According to an officer from the TRAFFIC conservation programme, the trade in civets to make kopi luwak may constitute a significant threat to wild civet populations.

Although kopi luwak is a form of processing rather than a variety of coffee, it has been called the most expensive coffee in the world with retail prices reaching €550 / US$700 per kilogramme. The price paid to collectors in the Philippines is closer to US$20 per kilogramme. The price of farmed (considered low-grade by connoisseurs) kopi luwak in large Indonesian supermarkets is from US$100 per kilogramme (five times the price of a high quality local arabica coffee). Genuine kopi luwak from wild civets is difficult to purchase in Indonesia and proving it is not fake is very difficult - there is little enforcement regarding use of the name "kopi luwak", and there's even a local cheap coffee brand named "Luwak", which costs under US$3 per kilogramme but is occasionally sold online under the guise of real kopi luwak.

An investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia found fraud to be rife in the kopi luwak industry, with producers willing to label coffee from caged civets with a "wild sourced" or similar label. A BBC investigation revealed similar findings.

Kopi luwak is produced mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago. It is also widely gathered in the forest or produced in the farms in the islands of the Philippines (where the product is called kape motit in the Cordillera region, kape alamid in Tagalog areas, and kape melô or kape musang in Mindanao island), and in East Timor (where it is called kafé-laku). Weasel coffee is a loose English translation of its Vietnamese name cà phê Chồn, where popular, chemically simulated versions are also produced.

Kamis, 07 Juli 2011

Kopi Luwak Tanpa Hewan Luwak

Kopi luwak yang proses alaminya melalui fermentasi dalam tubuh (perut) luwak sekarang sudah bisa diproduksi tanpa menggunakan hewan luwak. Hasil penelitian dari Ali Budhi, Warih, dan Maliki dari  Sekolah Ilmu dan Teknologi Hayati (SITH) ITB yang diberi nama Kopi Luwak Zimobiotik, berhasil membuat kopi luwak di dalam fermentor terkontrol (ex-situ, di luar buh luwak). Prinsip kerja fermentor ini adalah pemimikan proses reaksi enzimatis dan fermentasi microbial yang terjadi alami di dalam saluran pencernaan hewan luwak.
Kopi Luwak - Civet Coffe - tanpa Luwak
"Produk ini memiliki beberapa keunggulan dibandingkan dengan cara konvensional, antara lain hasil produksi dalam skala besar, kualitas produk terkontrol secara analitik, harga ekonomis dan tidak merusak kelestarian populasi hewan luwak di dalam." terang Ali Budhi.
Inovasi teknologi ini diharapkan dapat meningkatkan kualitas dan kuantitas produksi kopi luwak serta berkontribusi dalam kelestarian musang luwak. Penelitian yang dibimbing oleh Dr. I Nyoman Aryantha ini berhasil membawa ITB meraih juara 1 dalam ajang Youth Agrotechnopreneurship Competition (YAC) 2010 yang digelar di Institut Pertanian Bogor pada bulan Oktober 2010. (sumber : link)