Kopi luwak coffee has grown increasingly popular around the globe in recent years. Its claims of superiority can be explained by having passed through the digestive tract of a palm civet before excreted – thus producing reduced acidity and smoother flavors; however, its price tag remains relatively high due to its exotic origin rather than any actual improvement in taste.

Beans must be collected by following civets through the jungle and collecting their droppings, an extremely labor-intensive process which drives up costs significantly. Furthermore, this practice often results in hunters killing them to harvest the droppings while other times captive civets may be captured from their natural environment and kept caged on farms for harvesting. Civets suffering stress-induced malnutrition as a result often experience infections and other health complications caused by being caged up on farms for collection purposes.

Indonesia’s Ulema Council has approved of kopi luwak as long as the beans have been washed before consumption, though many Muslim scholars contend otherwise due to bacteria-laden feces from animals used for production of this beverage being present, which makes them unhygienic.

Feces from these animals is also contaminated by urine from other civets, making it illegal for Muslims to consume it. Furthermore, kopi luwak coffee is typically made using beans that were fermented inside of a civet’s stomach; although fermentation itself is permissible according to Islamic law, its contamination by urine from other civets makes its consumption forbidden for Muslims.

As an alternative to kopi luwak, many reputable coffee shops sell artisanal, traditional Balinese coffee. By buying here you can be certain the coffee comes from legitimate local farmers rather than being produced from wild civet feces.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has conducted investigations at Bali kopi luwak farms and found that civets are being caged and force-fed coffee cherries to meet demand, leaving them suffering poor hygiene, malnutrition and illness as well as being sold at live animal markets where their diseases could potentially spread to humans or other civets. Therefore, PETA strongly urges tourists to choose ethically produced traditional kopi luwak from local producers instead.