World’s Most Expensive Coffee Declared Halal
Having attracted much attention across the media of late, Kopi Luwak – the most highly priced coffee in the world and one that is extracted from the excrement of civet cats, has been declared ‘halal’ by the influential Islamic authority, the Indonesian Ulema Council.
Given that Indonesia is one of the most highly Muslim populated nations in the world and that a significant volume of the speciality animal-ingested, -fermented and -excreted coffee is produced locally, its potentially ‘unclean’ provenance has been called into question by a preacher, who has suggested that it may not be fit for Muslim consumption or religiously approved.
After much consideration, Maruf Amien, acting head of the council, has announced that as long as the Civet cat-processed coffee has been washed prior to roasting, it can be regarded as ‘halal’ and that “Producing, selling and drinking it is allowed.”
Kopi Luwak is made on the country’s main coffee-producing island of Sumatra and Sulawesi, with similar coffee also produced elsewhere in Southeast Asia through the same process, albeit under other names. Regarded as a rare delicacy, only 450kg of Kopi Luwak is produced annually across the globe.
In terms of the exact process involved in achieving this highly sought after coffee, civets – mongoose-like animals – eat the ripe, red coffee berries, ferment the parchment-covered hard beans as they pass through the digestive tract and then excrete them, with these remaining beans then salvaged, washed, sun dried, roasted and brewed for human consumption. The resulting coffee’s taste is said to have a highly unique roasting smell and taste.