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Yesterday I asked in the main site this question:

https://coffee.stackexchange.com/q/1724/157

and was almost immediately flagged as off-topic because of being a "product recommendation" one.

Even in the case that such a question indeed is a "product recommendation question", I think it relates to this answer:

https://coffee.meta.stackexchange.com/a/38/157

in the sense that my question points specifically to a very unique kind of coffee, one that is produced just in a limited region of the planet, and since its features are very special, I really don't think that a plethora of answers will be received, and is very likely that the one or two that may appear will all point towards the same direction.

Said all this, I expect the opinion of the community, in order to keep the question open or close it right away.


Finally, I made a new question.

Well, I've just rephrased the question with a new one, following @hoc_age recommendations:

What does Kopi Luwak taste like?

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  • You are more optimistic than I am about "one or two that may appear... all point[ing] in the same direction". It would seem to call for a comparison of every other coffee product with Kopi Luwak "in terms of taste and aroma".
    – hardmath
    Commented Apr 12, 2015 at 16:24
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    Let's keep in mind that Kopi Luwak is a variety of coffee, not a specific brand/product. It's like asking where to find a good car like a Japanese one (silly example). The point is there is no product here. Having said that, questions are much more interesting when we can discuss objectively. Commented Apr 15, 2015 at 15:29

1 Answer 1

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My take on this is that the "product recommendation" might be a little misleading. Let's focus instead about what you're really asking, and what type of answer you're looking for. It seems that there's quite a bit of interest in the topic of Kopi Luwak, because there are several questions about it and much discussion. I think there's a lot of room for interesting Q&A related to this topic!

Fundamentally, what's your question or what are you trying to solve? From your initial question, it sounds like...

  • you have never tried Kopi Luwak;
  • you don't know how it tastes,
  • you are unable or unwilling to try it;
  • you are looking for an alternative.

Are any of those a more fundamental question that you have? How about changing the question to, "What does Kopi Luwak taste like?" Then you can also ask in the body of the question, or infer from the answer, "What other coffees taste like it?" Though similar in concept, I think "how does it taste" comes across better. What do you think? I'd be happy to re-articulate the question with you, or un-lock it if you change it around. For example:


What does Kopi Luwak taste like?
I have never had the opportunity to try Kopi Luwak, but I'd like to know how it tastes. How is does the taste differ from more traditionally processed coffee from the same region? Are there other coffees that have similar tasting notes?


Or something like that. That said, this answer says Kopi Luwak is delicious, and has some descriptions, but there's probably room for another question on the topic.

Another question might be something more like "Why does Kopi Luwak taste different?" For example, what is it about the Kopi Luwak digestion process that changes the beans? What happens to the beans during digestion (e.g., protein digestion)?

There might also be room for a question about Black Ivory Coffee, which is apparently coffee digestively "processed" in a similar way by rescued elephants.

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  • As an aside: Though I understand the allure of such a rare and exotic concept, I personally find the idea of Kopi Luwak repugnant. For my money, I'll aim to try reputably produced coffees that exhibit the terroir of the nature of the region, not the bowels of an animal. :)
    – hoc_age Mod
    Commented Apr 15, 2015 at 14:21
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    I've just posted a new question following your recommendations: coffee.stackexchange.com/q/1760/157
    – Nicolás
    Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 15:33

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