Kape Alamid: Civet Coffee in the Philippines, Explained

By Robin Salvador, co-founder, Caffeine Brothers
Last updated: October 17, 2026

Quick answer: Kape alamid is coffee made from beans that a palm civet ate and passed. Gatherers collect the droppings, wash and dry the beans, then roast them. In the Philippines it is gathered in Batangas, South Cotabato, Cotabato, Kalinga and Sulu, among other places. On October 17, 2026 one Manila retailer sold it at ₱1,099 per 100 g, about 7.5 times the ₱146 per 100 g of our Benguet Arabica in a 200 g bag. Studies show the civet’s gut changes the bean’s proteins, but no test can prove whether a bag came from wild or caged civets. Caffeine Brothers does not sell civet coffee.

What is kape alamid?

Palm civets are wild mammals that eat ripe coffee cherries. The fruit is digested, and the hard beans pass through. Farmers and gatherers then “collect, clean, dry, roast” them, as an Inquirer report from Cotabato put it in September 2024. The beans are sold as civet coffee, kape alamid, or under the Indonesian name kopi luwak.

The animal’s scientific name depends on the source. DOST material uses Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, the Asian palm civet. Mongabay’s 2023 report from South Cotabato calls it the Philippine palm civet, Paradoxurus philippinensis, and the Mammal Diversity Database lists that species as split from P. hermaphroditus after a 2015 study by Veron and colleagues. Either way, it is a palm civet of the genus Paradoxurus.

Where is civet coffee produced in the Philippines?

There is no official national figure for civet coffee output. What exists are reports from individual areas, and most volumes are self-reported by the producers.

Our guides to Philippine coffee origins and Benguet coffee cover regular coffee from these and other regions.

How much does kape alamid cost?

Civet coffee prices vary widely, and many older figures are still quoted online. The table puts them in date order. Only the October 2026 row reflects prices today.

At 10 g per cup, the pure civet coffee works out to ₱109.90 a cup and the single drip bag to ₱125. Our Benguet Arabica costs ₱14.60 a cup from a 200 g bag (₱292), and our Robusta costs ₱8.13 a cup from a 1 kg bag (₱813). The “blend” version is cheaper because part of it is regular coffee. If a civet coffee is priced close to ordinary beans, ask what share of it is civet coffee.

Does the civet really change the coffee?

A few lab studies have looked at this. They agree that the beans change in the civet’s gut. They do not agree on how much the cup changes.

• Massimo Marcone’s 2004 study in Food Research International compared Indonesian kopi luwak and Ethiopian civet coffee with regular beans. Protein was lower in every civet sample: 13.5% vs 14.5% for kopi luwak and 12.1% vs 13.2% and 11.4% vs 12.7% for two Ethiopian samples. Gel tests showed storage proteins had been broken down, and the bean surfaces had small pits. No Philippine samples were included.
• At De La Salle University, Chan and Garcia (2011) compared civet and regular Robusta from Tagaytay. Civet beans had about 28% less alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) in the oil and about 4.5% more caffeine before roasting, with the same surface pitting.
• A 2016 DLSU doctoral thesis by E.V. Garcia on Philippine civet coffee found 96 volatile compounds and concluded that roasting changed the metabolite profile more than passage through the civet did.
• Jumhawan and colleagues (2013) used 21 bean samples to propose chemical markers for spotting fake kopi luwak, noting “a serious issue about adulteration and fakes in the market.”
• A 2025 study in Scientific Reports of 68 scat samples from wild civets on Indian Robusta estates found higher total fat in the civet beans. News coverage said protein and caffeine were lower, but the paper’s abstract reports no difference, so treat those two claims with care.

Marcone’s cupping panel found lower body and acidity in the civet samples. Taste is personal, and none of these studies tested Philippine kape alamid against a well-roasted regular Philippine coffee in a blind cupping.

Wild or caged: why it matters

Some producers keep civets in cages and feed them coffee cherries. In a study published in Animal Welfare in 2016, Carder and colleagues made unannounced visits to 16 plantations in Bali in May 2013 and assessed 48 wild-caught caged civets. Mean scores on a 0 to 4 scale were 0.25 for water, 0.38 for social interaction and 0.75 for food, and the authors wrote that “all of the civets were experiencing compromised welfare.” Fourteen of the 16 plantations made caged civet coffee on site.

The Philippines has its own reports. GMA News reported in 2013 that Mt. Apo Civet Coffee in Davao kept civets in cages and that PETA had released video from a Davao farm. In 2011, Vie Reyes of Bote Central, which said it produced about three tons a year, told AFP she estimated that 80% of Philippine civet coffee came from caged animals. In South Cotabato, B’laan communities on Mt. Matutum fine members who cage civets, Mongabay reported in 2023.

The hard part is checking. World Animal Protection calls wild-sourced civet coffee “the only humane option,” and UTZ Certified stopped certifying producers that cage civets in 2014. But National Geographic reported in 2016 that there was no way to tell whether a bag came from wild or caged civets, and the Philippine Coffee Board told GMA News in 2013 that it “is not a policing body.” Chemical tests such as Jumhawan’s can help show whether beans passed through a civet. They cannot show how the civet lived.

Is civet coffee legal in the Philippines?

The Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act (RA 9147, 2001) covers wild animals, including those “in captivity or are being bred.” Section 17 requires a wildlife farm or culture permit for commercial breeding, and only the progeny may be traded. Section 27 makes it illegal to collect, hunt, possess, trade, maltreat or transport wildlife unless otherwise allowed. DENR Region V described the common palm civet in February 2021 as “other wildlife species” under DAO 2019-09, meaning it is not on the threatened list but is still protected.

Penalties in the 2001 text for other wildlife species are lower than some reports suggest: 10 days to 1 month and ₱1,000 to ₱5,000 for collecting or possessing, and 1 to 6 months and/or ₱5,000 to ₱20,000 for killing. The Inquirer’s 2024 report quoted a local officer citing one month to eight years and fines up to ₱5 million, which in the law applies to other offenses. We read the 2001 text only. The law does not mention gathering droppings, so anyone planning to sell civet coffee should ask DENR first. This is not legal advice.

How to buy civet coffee more carefully

1. Ask where it was gathered. A seller who sources from wild civets should be able to name the town or community.
2. Ask about cages directly. Ask whether any civets are kept or fed on the farm. A vague answer is a warning sign.
3. Be careful with “100% wild” labels. No certification or lab test can prove it today.
4. Check whether it is pure or blended. The same retailer sold a 100 g pure pack at ₱1,099 and a blend at ₱715 on October 17, 2026.
5. Compare it with good regular coffee. Try a fresh Philippine coffee first, such as Sagada coffee or kapeng barako, so you know what you are paying extra for.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Civet hunting threatens specialty coffee in Cotabato. Inquirer Mindanao, September 20, 2024. Used for the process, Makilala areas, farm volumes and penalty quote.
2. Civet coffee controversy: caged cats or the wild and the free?. GMA News, November 27, 2013. Used for names, Davao caged civets, prices and the Coffee Board quote.
3. How animal dung coffee is making big money. Manila Times, undated. Used for regional names.
4. Philippine tribe boosts livelihoods and conservation with civet poop coffee. Mongabay, April 2023. Used for balos, B’laan rules and prices.
5. Science chief eyes copying civet coffee production process. DOST-STII, undated. Used for the name balos and species name.
6. Paradoxurus philippinensis. Mammal Diversity Database, read October 17, 2026. Used for the species split.
7. Civets, tribal folk find harmony. Inquirer, August 4, 2012. Used for Mt. Matutum and 2012 farmgate price.
8. Civet coffee brings hope to the Cordilleras. Philippine Coffee Board, March 21, 2017. Used for Kalinga.
9. Sulu civet coffee cooperative report. Inquirer, June 1, 2013. Used for Sulu volumes.
10. Civet coffee gatherers in Batangas (AFP). Inquirer/AFP, October 30, 2011. Used for Lipa volumes, 2011 prices and the 80% caged estimate.
11. Philippine Civet Coffee 100g. ECHOstore, read October 17, 2026. Used for current prices, with the store’s civet drip coffee pages.
12. Composition and properties of Indonesian palm civet coffee (Kopi Luwak) and Ethiopian civet coffee. Marcone, Food Research International 37, 2004. Used for protein and structure.
13. Comparative Physicochemical Analyses of Regular and Civet Coffee. Chan and Garcia, Manila Journal of Science 7(1), 2011. Used for Philippine civet coffee chemistry.
14. A multi-omics approach to finding potential biomarkers in Philippine civet coffee. E.V. Garcia, De La Salle University, 2016. Used for volatiles and roasting effect.
15. GC-MS authentication method developed for world’s most expensive coffee beans. LCGC, September 19, 2013, on Jumhawan et al. 2013. Used for authentication markers.
16. Civet coffee study, Kodagu, India. Scientific Reports, October 23, 2025. Used for fat findings and the reporting conflict.
17. A preliminary assessment of welfare of civets on Bali coffee plantations. Carder et al., Animal Welfare 25, 2016. Used for welfare scores.
18. Kopi luwak and captive civets. National Geographic, April 29, 2016. Used for the verification problem.
19. Civet coffee. World Animal Protection, undated. Used for the wild-sourced position.
20. Caged civet coffee banned by UTZ Certified. World Animal Protection, June 4, 2014.
21. Republic Act No. 9147. Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, 2001. Used for permits and penalties.
22. Common palm civet turned over in Sorsogon. DENR Region V, February 2021. Used for the civet’s status.

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