Kopi Luwak (civet coffee), produced from coffee beans recovered from the feces of the Asian palm civet, is among the most expensive specialty coffees worldwide for its unique sensory characteristics. In this study, a multi-omics strategy was employed to elucidate the impact of drying on the microbial community structure and metabolic profiles of Typica Kopi Luwak beans. Drying induced pronounced shifts in the microbial composition, with a significant enrichment of Sphingobacterium and depletion of Streptococcus at the genus level. Concurrently, drying resulted in substantial metabolic remodeling, characterized by increased levels of prenol lipids, fatty acyls, carboxylic acids and derivatives, steroids and steroid derivatives, and organooxygen compounds, accompanied by a marked reduction in flavonoids. KEGG pathway analysis indicated that both altered microbial taxa and metabolites were associated with lipid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and the biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites. Correlation network analysis further revealed the associations between key microbial genera and specific classes of differential metabolites. Collectively, these findings suggest the potential role of post-excretion sun-drying in shaping the microbiome and metabolome of Typica Kopi Luwak beans, offering a scientific basis for controlled or in vitro fermentation strategies to produce coffees with reproducible quality attributes.
Li et al. (2026) studied this question.