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Is Kopi Luwak Coffee Halal?
The world’s most expensive coffee is produced using beans partially digested by an Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphrodites). Once excreted in their feces, these beans are collected for collection as “kopi luwak,” or civet coffee, after being washed to remove any impurities caused by contact with its digestive tract and washed again to remove impurities that may remain. This specialty coffee boasts smooth earthy and musty notes for an unparalleled sensory experience!
Muslim communities have long been divided on whether kopi luwak coffee is permissible. Some scholars maintain it is permissible, while others do not agree due to najis ingestion from civet stomach and intestinal tract, which transfers onto beans during excretion process and becomes impure if left on them during excretion process; otherwise it becomes pure and may be consumed.
Concerns have also been expressed over civets being forced to consume beans to obtain enough energy to travel through their digestive systems, leading to obesity and diseases in these animals. Furthermore, humane treatment might not always be ensured and they could even be fed discarded food products, further destabilizing them health wise.
Some scholars argue that civets must be killed before their coffee beans can be used, while others maintain that allowing the animals to eat and excrete normally will ensure that any beans produced from civets will not contain any trace amounts of najis (uncleanness). Others contend that by extracting and discarding this contamination prior to consumption, their seeds remain pure enough for planting in new plants – this being considered the only halal way of producing such coffee products.
Though debated, many still enjoy drinking kopi luwak coffee due to its smoother taste and reduced bitterness than regular coffee, often described as having an appealing nutty or chocolatey aroma.
Coffee industry growth has been rapid over recent years and more halal companies are emphasizing it as an area of specialization. It should be noted, however, that in order to market luwak coffee under Islamic principles it must first obtain certification by Islamic authorities before being offered for sale on the marketplace.
As such, commercial production of halal tayyiban kopi luwak necessitates extensive research in order to meet all necessary halal critical control points. One method for doing so is through participant observation which involves researchers being present during production process of specific product; participant observation was used in this article as it examined a case study of producing halal tayyiban coffee on a farm located near Bandung through case study and participant observation of this production process using this method; its findings indicate three significant critical control points must be implemented for successful commercial production: hygiene conditions, food safety and quality.