Our story from the first civet to Kopi Bean

If you've been following us for a while, you know that our passion for coffee is nothing new—we have been roasting our own coffee for you since 2007. Those of you who have been with us the longest might remember us under our very first name, Kopi Luwak. Later, you knew us as the e-shop kawio.cz.

Over time, however, we grew, learned, opened new places, and our world expanded. We realized we needed one strong family brand to bring it all together. And so, Kopi Bean was born.

Kopi Bean is no longer just an e-shop. It's our entire coffee family, under which you will now find:

• A roastery

• A cafe

• A brick-and-mortar store

• And this e-shop that connects it all.

What happened to the Kawio brand? It's definitely not going away! We just gave it a clearer role. From now on, it proudly represents our private brand of coffee accessories. If you're looking for quality equipment for both home and professional coffee preparation, you'll find it right under the Kawio banner.

How it all started (Told by the owner, Jakub Fiala)

Our travels to plantations started back in 2005. Originally, the timber trade had me traveling regularly around the Indonesian islands to visit local suppliers. These trips usually took several weeks, and honestly, the free time on the beaches soon started to bore me. It was then that I heard from friends about the most expensive coffee in the world—Kopi Luwak, the civet coffee.

Since I had made many friends over my years of traveling in Indonesia, I cast my net and waited. Gradually, friends from Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Bali, and other islands started reaching out. I definitely traded my free time on the beaches for time spent traveling around plantations, and my coffee pilgrimage began.

Indonesia: The search for wild civets and my first roasting

After many false alarms, visiting plantations and roasteries across several islands, I found myself on a plantation near Semarang (Java). I petted my first civet there and tasted my first civet coffee. But civets kept in cages weren't my goal.

I kept searching until, in 2008, I came across Robusta plantations in southern Sumatra with wild-living civets. The journey to them wasn't easy at all, but the result was my first coffee from wild civets—Kopi Luwak Liar Robusta. And with it came my first roasting experiences. Yes, I learned to roast using rare civet coffee on a small, 250g Gene Café hot-air roaster! Today, I roast on modern IMF 15 kg technology with airflow. My perseverance was ultimately crowned by finding Kopi Luwak Liar Arabica in what is now the very famous Aceh region of northern Sumatra.

Coffee journeys across continents

My coffee journey soon blew me over to other continents as well. Comparing the work of different farmers helps me understand how to work with coffee properly and how to proceed when selecting the most delicious microlots for our roastery.

• Brazil and stellar coffee: Together with friends from Poland, we visited the Minas Gerais region. It was fascinating to compare small family plantations with giant farms covering hundreds of hectares. Unforgettable was a cupping session at an organic plantation where the owner, Riky, managed the coffee growing according to the position of the stars in the sky. There, we also hand-picked coffee from Jacu birds, which (similar to civets) eat the coffee cherries.

• Africa and the masters from Kenya: Visiting the Dohrmans coffee laboratory in the Mt. Kenya region is an experience for anyone who is serious about coffee. A cupping of the 25 best coffees from the current harvests and long conversations with experienced Q-graders (coffee graders) and local roasters massively expanded my knowledge about roasting African coffees, which are among the best in the world.

• Cuba and the joy of discovery: A country producing great Arabicas even in difficult conditions. Contact with smaller local farmers is more demanding here due to their reserved nature and the language barrier. Still, I managed to share my experiences with them. Together, we roasted their freshly dried samples to a medium roast (locals usually roast very dark, past the second crack). Their enthusiasm upon tasting the coffee roasted this way was like children being gifted a new toy.

These were by no means our last trips. We are constantly traveling, discovering, and selecting the absolute best for you.