Indonesian Civet Cat Poop Coffee Brews Up Controversy It's the world's most expensive cup of coffee, but animal rights groups have concerns over how it's produced.

A civet cat eats red coffee cherries at a farm in Bondowoso, Indonesia. Civets are actually more closely related to meerkats and mongooses than to cats.

Civet coffee is sold at five coffee shops around the Bay Area. San Francisco Eva's Coffee calls it the rarest and most luxurious coffee in the world, which they charge $15 a cup for.

New York’s crappiest cup of coffee is also its most expensive. At $30 a cup, “Kopi Luwak” is made from beans collected from the droppings of a small, cat-like mammal called a civet.

Hong Kong animal activists condemned the slaughtering of civet cats. "We don't even know if the civet cat is the direct source of SARS," said Ng Cho-nam, president of the Conservancy Association.

The civet cat has a definite image problem. Nine months ago, the animals were banished as suspected spreaders of the SARS virus, only to be back on the menu after the outbreak subsided.

It’s an exotic delicacy called Kopi Luwak, made from coffee beans found in the droppings of the Indonesian civet cat. A single serving can go for as much as $90 in the US.

1 of 6 — In the wild, the civet "cat" is naturally drawn to the best, ripe fruits on the coffee plant; that's why, effectively, they would produce the best beans, in small batches. 2 of 6 — A ...