slimvictor
Bluelight Crew
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- Dec 29, 2008
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Scientists say they have found a unique chemical fingerprint of exotic civet coffee to verify that the rare and expensive Kopi Luwak is the real thing.
Some coffee drinkers pooh-pooh the exotic and expensive coffee that comes from the Asian palm civet's poop, but it has become a tempting target for fraud. And there has been no standard test to determine whether products labeled as civet coffee, sold for $150-$227 a pound, are the real thing.
Now, scientists say they have developed a way to authenticate civet coffee, according to a study published online July 27 in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
The making of authentic civet coffee begins in fields in countries such as Indonesia, where the small mammals pick ripe coffee cherries. They digest the soft fruit surrounding the beans and excrete the beans, which are then cleaned, wet-fermented, sun-dried and roasted. The coffee is sold in stores in Southeast Asia and is available online.
Scientists have found what they call a "metabolic fingerprint" that allows them to verify "real Kopi Luwak" (Indonesian for "civet coffee") using metabolomics technology, Eiichiro Fukusaki, a corresponding author of the study, says in an e-mail. The unique chemical fingerprint reflects higher levels of citric acid and malic acid as well as a certain inositol/pyroglutamic acid ratio.
Metabolomics is research that focuses on metabolites, which are substances produced during metabolism (chemical processes such as digestion). A metabolic fingerprint consists of metabolites that can be detected by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.
cont at
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/07/civet-coffee-authentication/2686427/
Some coffee drinkers pooh-pooh the exotic and expensive coffee that comes from the Asian palm civet's poop, but it has become a tempting target for fraud. And there has been no standard test to determine whether products labeled as civet coffee, sold for $150-$227 a pound, are the real thing.
Now, scientists say they have developed a way to authenticate civet coffee, according to a study published online July 27 in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
The making of authentic civet coffee begins in fields in countries such as Indonesia, where the small mammals pick ripe coffee cherries. They digest the soft fruit surrounding the beans and excrete the beans, which are then cleaned, wet-fermented, sun-dried and roasted. The coffee is sold in stores in Southeast Asia and is available online.
Scientists have found what they call a "metabolic fingerprint" that allows them to verify "real Kopi Luwak" (Indonesian for "civet coffee") using metabolomics technology, Eiichiro Fukusaki, a corresponding author of the study, says in an e-mail. The unique chemical fingerprint reflects higher levels of citric acid and malic acid as well as a certain inositol/pyroglutamic acid ratio.
Metabolomics is research that focuses on metabolites, which are substances produced during metabolism (chemical processes such as digestion). A metabolic fingerprint consists of metabolites that can be detected by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.
cont at
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/07/civet-coffee-authentication/2686427/
