Is Kopi Luwak Really From Civet Faeces? A Look at Its Legality in Islam

As one of the world’s largest coffee producers, Indonesia offers a wide range of coffees. One Indonesian coffee that has gained global fame is Kopi Luwak. True to its name, this coffee is distinguished by a processing method that involves the civet.

Quoted from a piece titled What is Kopi Luwak? A Literature Review on Production, Quality and Problems by Muzaifa et al., Kopi Luwak refers to coffee beans that are eaten by the civet, fermented through the civet’s digestive tract, and excreted in intact beans still wrapped in a husk together with the civet’s faeces. The processing by the civet is believed to yield coffee beans with superior flavour due to chemical reactions with enzymes and bacteria in the civet’s stomach.

Despite being renowned for its taste and high price, some people remain sceptical about Kopi Luwak. After all, this drink is often seen as civet faeces since it is excreted with faeces. This has sparked debate about the cleanliness and the halal status of Kopi Luwak.

So, is Kopi Luwak really from civet faeces? And what is the hukm (ruling) on drinking Kopi Luwak in Islam?

Read explanations of the processing and its Islamic ruling, summarised from the article What is Kopi Luwak? A Literature Review on Production, Quality and Problems by Muzaifa et al., the article Analisis terhadap Pandangan Ulama tentang Kehalalan Kopi Luwak, the book Kopi Luwak: Produksi, Mutu dan Permasalahannya by Muzaifa et al., the NU Online website, and the Islam QA site.

Origin of Kopi Luwak

Luwak is a mammal with the Latin name Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, nocturnal and living in trees. This animal is an omnivore that enjoys eating chicken, ducks, rabbits, papaya, jackfruit, and even coffee.

The ripe coffee fruits are among the favourite foods of the civet. However, the civet does not digest the coffee beans, so the beans are excreted intact.

The origins of Kopi Luwak are tied to coffee cultivation in Indonesia during the colonial era. In the early eighteenth century, the Dutch brought Arabica coffee seedlings from Yemen to be planted in Java and Sumatra. As part of the forced labour programme, the Dutch also forbade workers from consuming the coffee fruit from those plantations.

Plantation workers then realised that the civet enjoyed eating coffee fruit. They would usually eat the ripe fruit but did not digest the beans or the pulp of the fruit. The coffee beans produced by the civet were then consumed by local residents who wanted to taste coffee, giving rise to Kopi Luwak.

The pleasure of Kopi Luwak eventually became known to Dutch plantation owners, and kopi luwak then became a favourite among the wealthy Dutch. It later gained wide fame among gourmet coffee enthusiasts after publications in the 1980s. The coffee went global after presenter Oprah Winfrey introduced Kopi Luwak Arabica Gayo on her programme, The Oprah Winfrey Show, in 2003.

Kopi Luwak from Faeces?

Kopi Luwak is indeed excreted with the civet’s faeces after the civet digests the coffee fruit. However, the beans excreted remain intact and are enclosed by the husk, not crushed and not mixed with the civet’s faeces. This is because the civet does not digest the coffee beans.

The processing of Kopi Luwak begins with the civet consuming the coffee fruit. The beans that are eaten then undergo fermentation by the enzymes in the civet’s digestive tract. The fermentation occurs at high temperatures, even up to 200–265°C, and lasts 10–12 hours. This long process means a single civet can produce only about 0.2–0.4 kg of coffee per day. This is why genuine Kopi Luwak commands a high price.

The civet used in the processing of coffee may come from the wild or from captivity. If from the wild, Kopi Luwak producers will search for civet faeces around the plantation, namely in the grass near the coffee trees, on rocks or soil, and even on the rooftops of houses. The beans are then collected from the civet faeces, soaked or washed repeatedly, and dried.

After drying, the Kopi Luwak beans are still separated from their husks, dried, and sorted again. This process ensures the Kopi Luwak beans are thoroughly clean and free from civet faeces or other faeces. Moreover, Kopi Luwak sold on the market is typically produced to meet certain standards, such as those of specialty coffee.

Ruling on Drinking Kopi Luwak in Islam

The legal status of a substance that exits the body of an animal, such as Kopi Luwak beans, is debated among scholars. The Shafi‘i and Hanafi schools hold that all substances that exit the body via the front or rear passages are najis (ritually impure).

Meanwhile, the Hanbali school holds that the urine and faeces of animals whose meat or milk is halal are not included among najis things. Since civet meat is haram to eat, some scholars say that the civet’s faeces, including the beans, are najis.

Among the Shafi‘i scholars, the impurity status of what exits an animal depends on the form of the expelled item. If the beans expelled are still hard and intact and could be grown if planted, then the legal status of the bean is pure. However, the outer part must be cleaned and washed due to touch with impurity. This view is among those advanced by Imam Nawawi.

If we refer to Imam Nawawi’s view, Kopi Luwak beans are not najis. This is because the beans are expelled intact, remain hard, and can be planted again. The beans are considered pure objects that have been touched by impurity (mutanajjis), and therefore only the outer part needs washing.

A similar view is also expressed by Hanafi scholars, as noted in the book ad-Durr al-Mukhtar. In that book, it is mentioned that barley found in the form p…