BAT COFFEE

Bat Coffee is an interdisciplinary review of one of the world’s least studied animal-associated specialty coffees. The article examines the best-known documented example from the Itasy region of Madagascar, where wild bats have been reported feeding on ripe Bourbon Pointu coffee cherries. Unlike coffees produced through gastrointestinal passage, bat-associated coffee may involve bats selecting and nibbling ripe cherries and leaving partially consumed fruit for subsequent collection and processing.
In brief, the process may involve bat selection and partial feeding on ripe coffee cherries → collection and sorting → cleaning and depulping → controlled drying and postharvest processing → roasting → quality and safety assessment → brewing.

The review critically examines the possible influence of bat contact and fruit selection on coffee chemistry, microbiology, fermentation and sensory quality, while distinguishing scientific evidence from commercial claims. Particular attention is given to hygienic handling, microbial hazards, mould growth, ochratoxin A, roasting, laboratory testing, authenticity and traceability. The article also considers bat conservation, animal welfare, sustainability, consumer perception, rarity and commercial value.

Rather than assuming that bat contact makes coffee either uniquely beneficial or inherently hazardous, the review applies an evidence-based approach to hazard, exposure, processing and actual consumer risk. It identifies important research gaps and proposes controlled chemical, microbiological, sensory and ecological studies needed to establish whether bat-associated coffee possesses reproducible characteristics beyond its rarity and unusual production story.