Kopi Luwak is a rare, expensive coffee. This has a lot to do with the fact that the beans need to first pass through the digestive system of the Asian palm civet. A study to be published in Food Research International reveals that not only is the digestion key to the superior flavor, but that “During the night, the civet uses its eyesight and smell to seek out and eat only the ripest coffee cherries.” The beans are washed during processing to remove any remaining surrounding fruit, resulting also in a low bacteria count. The same researcher, Massimo Marcone, has looked at the composition of swallow nests used in bird’s nest soup, finding that the protein structure from the saliva is similar to eggs. (U. of Guelph press release, Nature article)