Warning: spoilers ahead for Reacher season 3, episode 5.

Maybe it's for the best that Jack Reacher doesn't keep pets after Beck's mansion in Reacher season 3, Reacher enjoys the culinary delights cooked up by Agnes, the delightfully straight-talking housekeeper. The coffee, however, Reacher isn't so keen on.

To his great surprise, Agnes explains that Beck's expensive coffee went through a fascinating production process before finding its way into Reacher's mug. She reveals the coffee beans were fed to a cat, partially digested, then pooped out, packaged and sold to those like Beck who prefer their coffee with a certain tang. The appeal, according to Agnes, is that sending the beans through the cat beforehand enhances the taste. Reacher is unconvinced, but season 3 does raise the question of whether this is a real-life phenomenon, or something brewed up for TV.

Yes, Reacher Season 3's Cat Poop Coffee Is A Real Thing

It's Civet Coffee, Or Kopi Luwak

The type of coffee discussed in Reacher season 3 is more commonly known as civet coffee, and is very much a real thing. The process is almost exactly as Agnes describes. The Asian palm civet eats coffee beans. The beans get partially digested and fermented along the way, then are pooped out to be collected and sold for coffee drinking. The fermentation is alleged to be what improves the taste of the coffee, as well as the fact that civets carefully select the best beans to eat.

There are, however, a few key points Reacher season 3 leaves out. The civet is not strictly a cat, despite bearing a strong resemblance, so any viewers tempted to start slipping coffee beans into Felix's breakfast should stand down. Secondly, the taste benefits of civet coffee against the price is a matter of debate among aficionados. Arne Preuss at Coffeeness itted, "I’d have automatically slapped a mid-range ranking on any other coffee beans that tasted like that." A review from The Washington Post went further, calling the beverage "terrible." Reacher, it appears, is far from alone.

While the taste of any coffee, pooped or not, is always subjective, the production of civet coffee has also raised animal welfare concerns. PETA investigated the farming of civet coffee and claims to have unearthed cruel practices that cast an ethical shadow over an already controversial cup of joe.

Reacher Season 3's Cat Coffee Story Is A Perfect Example Of The Show's Subtle Humor

Reacher's Cat Poop Coffee Scene Serves An Important Purpose

Jack Reacher is not a funny man and, accordingly, Prime Video's Reacher is not an inherently funny series. To keep from taking itself too seriously, however, Reacher has successfully managed to weave a subtle layer of humor in between the silent glares and mountains of dead henchmen. Usually, such gags are derived from Reacher's antisocial personality rubbing awkwardly against others, and season 3's cat poop coffee scene is a perfect example of this.

Reacher's sheer disbelief that such a drink exists, and that people would pay a lot of money to taste it, is where the humor comes from.

On one hand, the pretentious Beck, with more money than he knows what to do with, purchases coffee that comes from a cat's excrement. On the other, Reacher's title character - a simple man who has tasted coffee from diners all across the United States - is distinctly unimpressed by his new employer's fancy beans. Reacher's sheer disbelief that such a drink exists, and that people would pay a lot of money to taste it, is where the humor comes from. Usually a man who pays no mind to trends, even Reacher finds amusement in the concept of coffee that comes from a cat's anus.

Sources: Coffeeness, The Washington Post, PETA