Forget champagne or truffles, the world’s priciest luxury drink begins (and ends) in the last place you’d expect. Kopi luwak, better known as civet coffee, is made from beans eaten and excreted by the Asian palm civet, a nocturnal mammal native to South and Southeast Asia. For years, fans have sworn its rich, velvety flavor comes from this peculiar process, and now, science has finally cracked the code.⁠ ⁠ Researchers at the Central University of Kerala in India ventured into the coffee-growing hills of Kodagu, where wild civets roam freely among Robusta plantations. They gathered 68 samples of civet droppings, meticulously cleaned the undigested beans, and compared them to fresh beans plucked straight from the plants. The results revealed a biochemical makeover. The civet-digested beans were fattier and richer in two key compounds, caprylic and capric acid methyl esters, that are also used in dairy flavorings. Those molecules lend a creamy, full-bodied aroma that makes kopi luwak tast...