Kopi luwak and Vietnamese weasel coffee are famous for their unusual production stories, but behind the novelty are serious questions about the welfare of civets used in coffee production. This is our original experience of finding the coffee in Bali and Saigon, with updated advice on avoiding animal exploitation.
Original travel journal: The coffee prices, marketing claims and enzyme-processing descriptions below reflect what we saw and understood at the time. They should not be treated as verified claims about the products sold today.
Our Encounters with Kopi Luwak and Weasel Coffee
Coffee beans collected from the excrement of civets. Sounds delightful. I like many others, first heard of Kopi Luwak from the Hollywood movie ‘The Bucket List’. At the time dubbed the World’s Most Expensive Coffee.
Not long after I was amazed to find Kopi Luwak sold across Southeast Asia for next to nothing. My most recent run-in in Bali where it is found everywhere.
So called ‘Agro-Tourism’. Coffee plantation tours pushed by taxi tour touts. Advertisements on roadside billboards. Coffee beans sold at every tourist market. But surprisingly Kopi Luwak is rarely found in hotels, coffee shops or restaurants in Bali.
It may have been the World’s Most Expensive Coffee but it is certainly not the most popular. Its price only reflecting exclusivity. High demand, low supply. The process of finding and collecting the beans creating the value. This is how the market should have stayed. Now with the ugly practices of intensive farming and enzyme-manufactured weasel coffee this novelty coffee is left with a bad taste.
Intensive Farming of Bali Luwak Coffee
Local opportunists cash in on Kopi Luwak as coffee plantations pop up throughout the region. Now civets are traded, caged and force-fed coffee berries. Like an Asian Foie Gras. The beans are then sold and plantations pushed as tourist attractions. Of course the civets on show to tourists are better off than those hidden in the background. I had no interest in visiting a plantation. Others with us did and returned with depressing knowledge of the situation.
Vietnamese Weasel Coffee (Cà Phê Chồn)
A slightly more ethical coffee. In Vietnam Weasel Coffee is made with an ‘enzyme soak’ which replicates the digestive process of civets without the need of the civet itself. If planning to pick up civet coffee in Southeast Asia this maybe the best option. Not only is it ethical but it is also cheap. 63,000 Dong per 100 Grams ($30 / Kilo). Cheaper again with haggling. Quite a bit less than $3000 / Kilo the price of weasel coffee at its highest. Below is a weasel coffee stall at Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
What Is Civet Coffee and Why Is It Controversial?
Traditional kopi luwak uses coffee beans that have passed through a civet’s digestive tract. Commercial demand has also created farms where civets are captured and kept in cages, sometimes in conditions that cause severe stress and injury. World Animal Protection explains the welfare problems associated with captive civet coffee production.
Is Vietnamese Weasel Coffee the Same as Kopi Luwak?
The name “weasel coffee” is used for products with different origins and production methods in Vietnam. Some are marketed as artificially processed or enzyme-treated alternatives rather than beans passed through an animal. Those claims cannot be confirmed simply from a market label. If you want coffee free of animal exploitation, ordinary Vietnamese coffee from a transparent producer is a more dependable choice.
How to Avoid Supporting Cruelty
Avoid tours that display caged civets for visitors, offer animal handling or cannot explain how the coffee was sourced. Animal welfare organisations also recommend choosing ordinary, responsibly produced coffee rather than paying a premium for products with uncertain supply chains. See Animals Asia’s responsible tourism advice.
More of Our Vietnam and Indonesia Stories
For the market where we saw Vietnamese weasel coffee, follow our Saigon city centre travel archive and original Ho Chi Minh City weekend. For more of the food culture, explore our Vietnamese food guide and our Bali travel story.
I bought Weasel coffee in Ha Noi, Old Quarter. It’s cheap and very tasty. I like its flavour, so I bought 2kg for my father. lol :))) I bought at Huong Mai cafe. I must come back there to buy weasel coffee again in my next trip :))