for Parshas Shemini
Rabbi Kaganoff
This article is intended for Parshas Shemini, the Shabbos after Pesach. Since that arrives on the heels of Pesach, I decided to send it out already.
Is Civet Coffee Kosher?
By Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff
Question #1: Civets?
Is civet coffee kosher?
Question #2: Elephants?
Is Black Ivory coffee kosher?
Question #3: Tza’ar ba’alei chayim
Is it permitted to catch these species in order to use them for coffee production?
Question #4: Birds?
What is the difference between “bird coffee” and “bird friendly coffee?”
Introduction
Among the non-kosher smaller mammals that Noach brought into his teivah was a southeast Asian creature called a civet that has been described as looking like a cross between a cat and a mongoose. Our article will discuss the kashrus issues involved in several new varieties of gourmet coffee that involve civets, elephants and other non-kosher animals.
Foreword
Hailed as “the most exotic beverage on the planet,” civet coffee, also known as kopi luwak, is a delicacy, a unique coffee made from coffee cherries (also called “berries”) that pass through the gut of the civet before being brewed. It is described as smooth and chocolaty, with a subtle taste of caramel. One of the most pronounced characteristics of kopi luwak beans is their natural lack of acid bitterness. They have been discovered to be low in both tannin and acid. Furthermore, it is claimed that they contain a plethora of other health advantages not found in other coffees.
Kopi is the word for “coffee” and luwak is the name for the civet in the local Indonesian language where this “delicacy” was discovered.
The civet loves coffee berries, but cannot digest the beans, which emerge whole. When the civets eat ripe coffee cherries, the beans pass through their digestive system, undergoing a natural fermentation process. The beans are collected, cleaned, dried, and roasted to produce the final coffee. Yes, you are very correct, it sounds gross. And there are several halachic issues that require addressing.
Black Ivory Coffee
Once mankind discovered that predigesting whole coffee beans might tenderize the bitterness in coffee and add flavor profiles, people experimented with using the digestive systems of other animals. “Black Ivory Coffee” was developed by a Canadian businessman in 2012 and involves coffee beans refined by elephants. Perhaps one advantage to this brew over kopi luwak is that elephants are readily available in captivity, both in Africa and in India, which makes it easier to produce and harvest the product “in bulk,” and, as we will soon see, might resolve one of the halachic problems involved in kopi luwak. The founder of the company that produces this specialty brew contends that the fermentation in the elephant’s gut strips the coffee bean of its bitterness and adds notes of chocolate, cacao nibs, light peach, malt, tamarind, spice and black tea, flavored in part by whatever else is in the herbivore’s stomach. The company producing “Black Ivory Coffee” also claims that their product has major health benefits because the coffee is rich in antioxidants and minerals.
Potentially, different varieties of this product can be made by varying the diet of the elephants. At one point, there might be an “Apricot Flavored Black Ivory Coffee,” one with “Natural Vanilla Flavor,” a “cashew infused” selection, “lemon and mint,” perhaps even an “esrog-hadas-date” flavor in honor of Sukkos -- as many varieties as at Baskin-Robbins. Can’t you just see the wide selection available in the Pesach aisle of your upscale local kosher supermarket? The choices are endless – but is the coffee kosher?
Bird coffee
Another type of specialty beverage is made from coffee cherries eaten by a variety of wild bird, the jacu. Jacu is the Portuguese name for one variety of birds, usually called guan, that are large tree-dwelling birds predominantly of tropical South American rainforests. It is claimed that this beverage is sweet, full-bodied, and smooth, with unique tasting notes of cinnamon, maple syrup, aniseed, and even hints of brown bread.
The history of kopi luwak
First imported from Indonesia in the 1990s, kopi luwak aficionados contend that acids and enzymes in the civet’s gut alter the protein content of the beans. It is also possible that the flavor is influenced by the civets’ preference for certain types of berries over others. As we will soon see, this factor may vary significantly by the type of kopi luwak drunk. They are roasted very lightly to preserve their complex flavors.
It is important to note that not everyone is convinced that the differences in flavor, if they even exist, are an improvement. It hasn’t fared well in expert tasting tests either. In the words of one coffee industry expert, kopi luwak is “a gimmick, a fairy tale fabricated to sell gullible consumers bad coffee at extraordinarily inflated prices.”
The cost of wild kopi luwak fluctuates between $20 and $100 per cup. To increase availability and bring down the price of this specialty beverage, an industry of farmed kopi luwak has developed in which the civets have been trapped, bred and fed coffee (and, presumably, other nutrients, since man, civets and even students in finals week cannot live on coffee alone). For those who want to buy kopi luwak by the bag (in bulk, no pun intended), wild kopi luwak costs significantly more, since it tastes better and is an ethical alternative to farmed kopi luwak.
Of course, when there is money to be made, there will be scandals. A BBC investigation discovered that “wild” kopi luwak being sold in Britain was in fact produced by civets being held in tiny cages in Sumatra, one of the larger islands of Indonesia. The gentleman who first imported kopi luwak to the West now regrets his involvement in what he describes as a “hideous trade.”
Our article is not a review of coffee variants, even if caffeine is the most common addicting substance in the western world. Our articles are about halacha, and we will discuss several halachic issues to determine whether this delicacy is kosher or not.
Potential halachic issues
What halachic issues must be clarified to determine whether these coffees are kosher? There are several:
1. Yotzei min hatamei
Since civets and elephants have neither split hooves nor chew their cud, they are not kosher. Do the enzymes and other digestive processes that the coffee bean absorbs in their guts render it yotzei min hatamei, something emanating from a non-kosher animal, like the milk or eggs of non-kosher species?
Similarly, we will have the same question regarding the jacu specialty. Since there is no
mesorah that the jacu or guan is a kosher bird, we must assume that it is not. In other words, since elephant and civet milk and jacu eggs are not kosher, must we assume that the coffee beans that they have digested are also not kosher?
2. Bal teshaktsu
Based on a pasuk (Vayikra 20:25), the Gemara prohibits eating something that people find repulsive (Shabbos 90b; Makkos 16b).
3. Tza’ar ba’alei chayim
Is there a halachic concern of tza’ar ba’alei chayim because an animal that naturally roams is being kept in small boxes and fed an artificial diet?
We will discuss these issues one at a time.
Yotzei min hatamei
According to all opinions, honey produced by bees is kosher, notwithstanding that it is very obvious that the bees do something to the nectar that they intake to make it into honey. The tanna’im dispute why is bee honey kosher.
The majority opinion, that of the Chachamim, is that the processing of nectar into honey is not significant enough to be considered yotzei min hatamei. Borrowing terminology of the Gemara, we could describe this as “sugar in, sugar out.” A minority opinion, that of Rabbi Yaakov, rules that honey of bees is kosher because of a gezeiras hakasuv, a halachic derivation from a verse, and this will include only the honey of bees (Bechoros 7b, as explained by Rabbeinu Tam in Sefer Hayashar #529-531, and many others).
The Gemara (Bechoros 7b) teaches that there is a practical halachic difference resulting from the dispute between these tanna’im: What is the kashrus status of honey-like substances that come from insects other than bees? According to the Chachamim, honey manufactured by wasps or the honeydew made by aphids is kosher. Notwithstanding that there are changes because of the input of these insects, the resultant product remains kosher. This is also the opinion of the Mishnah (Machshirim 6:4), which quotes no disputing view.
How do we rule?
The Rambam and Rabbeinu Tam rule according to the Mishnah and the majority opinion among the tanna’im that wasp honey and aphid honeydew are fully kosher. Because of a Talmudic inference (in Bechoros 7b), the Ramban and the Rosh (in their respective halachic compendia in Bechoros) rule like Rabbi Yaakov that these products are non-kosher. The Shulchan Aruch cites both opinions, but considers the lenient opinion to be the primary one (Yoreh Deah 81:9).
Let us now compare the coffee that has passed through the digestive tract of a civet, elephant or bird to wasp honey or aphid honeydew. According to the Chachamim, this coffee should certainly be permitted since the change rendered by the digestion of these creatures is far less noticeable than the change that wasps and aphids (or bees for that matter) do to nectar to make it honey. Honey neither looks nor tastes like nectar, nor does it have the same viscosity, but no visible difference appears in coffee beans after their passing through the digestive tract of these non-kosher animals. The differences in taste are extremely subtle and should be included under the heter of the Chachamim (see also Shu”t Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah 2:24).
The question is whether Rabbi Yaakov agrees. In his opinion, honey is considered a different substance from the nectar that was ingested, and therefore only bee honey is kosher. However, there is a very strong logic to argue that even Rabbi Yaakov permits kopi luwak, Black Ivory and jacu coffee since the coffee bean appears unchanged after its digestion.
There is another reason to permit these specialty coffees even according to Rabbi Yaakov. The Mishnah (Bechoros 7b) teaches that when a non-kosher fish swallows a kosher fish, the kosher fish remains kosher, and the Gemara (Bechoros 7b) says this is true even after it has passed through the entire digestive tract of the non-kosher fish. Many rishonim contend that something that passes through whole, or that remains hard when it is finished being digested (see Menachos 69b; Rash, Ohalos 11:7; Tosafos, Bechoros 7b), is considered no different halachically from what it was prior to digestion. According to this approach, Rabbi Yaakov would permit these varieties of coffee.
Bal teshaktsu
Based on a pasuk (Vayikra 20:25), the Gemara prohibits eating something that people consider repulsive (Shabbos 90b; Makkos 16b). This prohibition is called bal teshaktsu. Our question is whether I may eat something that I do not consider vile, but other people do. The Pri Chadash (Yoreh Deah 84:3) rallies much proof that individuals who are not revolted by a particular food may eat it, even when most people are. This author is unaware of any other halachic authorities who discuss this question. Although the Be’er Heiteiv refers to this Pri Chadash, he does not discuss or analyze it. According to this Pri Chadash, someone not disgusted by the past history of this expensive brew in front of him may drink it. There is also no reason to mention the background of the beverage to someone who is oblivious to its history.
There is other evidence that these beverages should not be prohibited because of bal teshaktsu. While discussing the rules of food being susceptible to tumah, the Tosefta (Taharos Chapter 9) and the Gemara (Menachos 69a) rule that wheat and barley kernels removed from cattle, donkey or camel manure are considered food if an individual decides that he would eat them. This implies that there is no prohibition of bal teshaktsu.
Tza’ar ba’alei chayim
At this point, I refer to the third of our opening questions: Is it permitted to catch civets in order to use them for coffee production?
The question relates probably only to farmed kopi luwak, since the captured civets are now caged and this is a species that usually lives in the wild.
One may use an animal to service people, even when doing so inflicts pain on the animal (Terumas Hadeshen 2:105; Rema, Even Ha’ezer 5:14; these authorities base their rulings on Talmudic sources -- see Shabbos 154b, Avodah Zarah 13b). The rationale provided is that animals and the rest of creation were created in order to service mankind (Terumas Hadeshen, based on Kiddushin 82a).
On the other hand, all authorities prohibit causing animals to suffer unnecessarily, such as to strike an animal out of anger or frustration (Sefer Chassidim #666). If an animal that is normally well-behaved and responsive to its vocation refuses to work one day, one should not beat it to get it to cooperate – rather, one should consider the possibility that it might be ill (Sefer Chassidim #668). Animals do get sick and, as we see from the story of Bilaam, they may have difficulty expressing themselves.
More specifically, it is prohibited to raise livestock in an inhumane way, such as by feeding them an unusual diet or depriving them of proper ventilation or exercise. However, although farmers may violate tza’ar ba’alei chayim when they raise their livestock, I am unaware of any authority who prohibits using a product that resulted from tza’ar ba’alei chayim. The prohibition is on the one who raises the livestock. In practice, many animals that we shecht and eat are raised in less than optimal circumstances, yet poskim have not ruled that we should avoid using such animals, or that we are required to inspect how these animals are handled prior to our purchasing meat that comes from them.
One can ask this question relative to many modern techniques of fur and fish farming and animals used for research. The question is whether the techniques used are indispensable for mankind to gain the benefits. For example, research testing on animals to see whether beneficial drugs are safe for mankind is certainly permitted, provided that no unnecessary pain is inflicted upon the animals. This is far less obvious when we are researching the safety of cosmetic items, particularly when others are readily available. In the case of kopi luwak, does this coffee really taste so much better that there is a necessity to keep civets in cages? And, why can’t those who really want this specific brew purchase wild kopi luwak.
I will also note that civets are farmed already for use as a flavor enhancer in food production. They are one of the reasons why products containing “natural flavors” must have a proper kosher certification. I am unaware of the conditions in which civets are raised for these purposes, but these are not within the parameters of this article.
Bird friendly
At this point, let us examine the last of our opening questions:
What is the difference between “bird coffee” and “bird friendly coffee?”
Bird Friendly® coffee has nothing to do with jacus or the digestion of coffee beans by a mammal. Coffee growing is a massive industry and requires tropical and subtropical areas for production. Unfortunately, coffee farms usually destroy natural habitat that was previously used by birds, either migratory or regional. Bird Friendly® farms provide a shade cover for habitat for both migratory and resident birds in their tropical landscapes. The term Bird Friendly® is a registered trademark of the Smithsonian Institute used to endorse farmers who qualify for its certification and research program.
Conclusion
Shelomoh Hamelech teaches (in Mishlei 12:10) Rachamei re’sha’im achzari, the compassion of the evil is cruelty. What does this mean, particularly since the context of the pasuk implies that it is discussing the care one takes of his animals? The example chosen by the Sefer Chassidim (#669) is of an evil person who feeds his animal well, but then expects it to perform beyond its capabilities – after all, he treated it so nicely. When the owner’s expectations are not realized, he beats the animal mercilessly. It turns out that his initial compassion causes him to be cruel.
To quote the Tosefta (Bava Kama, end of Chapter 9): Rabbi Yehudah said in the name of Rabban Gamliel, “Recognize this: As long as you act with mercy, Hashem will have mercy on you.” Sefer Chassidim #666 notes: If we are merciful to our animals, Hashem and others will be merciful to us. We should always hope and pray that the food we eat fulfills all the halachos that the Torah commands us.
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