Identification of Cat shit Coffee by Chemical Analysis

The luxury drink in question, Kopi Luwak (Kopi Luwak), derives its name from the Indonesian word for coffee and the Asian civet (coconut cat), a cat-like animal involved in the production of coffee.

After the civet eats the ripe fruit of the coffee plant (pictured), it digests the outer pulp and then excretes the whole coffee beans. the feces are collected, washed (thankfully), fermented, dried and roasted-a time-consuming process that ends up costing the drink about $330 to $500 per kilogram.

Such a profitable product is bound to have a lot of counterfeiters, indeed, the market is full of fakes. So in a new study, the researchers used chemical analysis to study four different coffee mixtures: real Kopi Luwak, regular coffee, and the 1:1 mixture of both. And other textured coffee beans-producers treated these beans chemically, trying to simulate mammalian excrement.

Coffee contains hundreds of natural organic compounds, a small part of which enabled the team to distinguish Kopi Luwak from other coffees. The researchers published the report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. In particular, Kopi Luwak contains higher concentrations of malic acid and citric acid, as well as a higher ratio of cellulose to pyroglutamic acid.

While trained experts and odor detector "electronic noses" can also distinguish real Kopi Luwak from other coffee, the study clearly identified chemicals that show real coffee bean properties for the first time, the researchers said. In addition, the technology even feels sensitive enough to distinguish pure Kopi Luwak from coffee mixed with different percentages of other coffee impurities-which is somewhat reassuring when you enjoy a $15 cup of coffee in the morning.