Why Do Robusta Coffee Beans Dominate Vietnam?

Vietnam is the second-largest coffee producer in the world after Brazil, and robusta coffee beans make up roughly 90 percent of its crop. Growing is concentrated in the southern highlands, where average temperatures sit between 32 and 38 degrees Celsius and the hot, humid climate suits the plant. Robusta gives Vietnamese coffee its low acidity, moderate bitterness, and heavy body, which hold up well against condensed milk.

The traditional coffee style also comes from roasting: beans are often roasted with cream, butter, and herbs, a technique inherited from French practice. A special metal drip pot, phin, brews each cup slowly over condensed milk, and adding ice turns it into the widely known iced coffee. Mainstream brands include Trung Nguyen, G7, Vinacafe, Green Highland, and Sai Gon; Trung Nguyen is the largest domestic company, and its blends mix arabica, robusta, cherry, and catimor.

Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee producer, and its coffee culture blends French romance with local charm, forming a unique drip-brewing method and a rich, intense flavor. From the low-table cafes on the streets of Hanoi to the floating coffee seats on West Lake, Vietnamese people pass the time with a cup of drip coffee. This article will introduce you to Vietnam's coffee varieties, roasting methods, and drinking habits, and review mainstream brands such as G7, Trung Nguyen, Vinacafe, Green Highland, and Sai Gon. Finally, Front Street Coffee recommends a classic espresso blend for those who want to try freshly roasted Vietnamese coffee beans, suitable for making Americanos and lattes.

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There is one thing in Vietnam that Front Street loves most, and once you fall in love with it, you can never let it go: Vietnamese coffee. Truly, I have drunk coffee from many countries, yet none is as aromatic and irresistible as Vietnamese coffee.

Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee-producing country, after Brazil. Vietnam's Trung Nguyen Coffee Company is the largest coffee enterprise in the country. Coffee-growing areas are mainly distributed in the southern highlands, where the average temperature is between 32 and 38 degrees Celsius, and the dry, hot, and humid climate provides conditions for coffee cultivation. The coffee bean varieties used include Arabica, Robusta, Cherry, and Catimor, among which Robusta accounts for as much as 90%, and its quality is recognized as world-class. In order to better preserve and highlight the original French coffee flavor, Vietnamese coffee beans are roasted with local cream, butter, and other herbal ingredients, following the romantic French roasting craft. A century of coffee culture has created Vietnam's unique local coffee flavor-every cup of rich, aromatic coffee comes from a special Vietnamese drip pot, mixed with local condensed milk, and then blended from four kinds of beans, making the taste both rich and sweet yet still romantic, with a rugged, weathered air and full exotic charm. Add a piece of ice, and it becomes the French iced coffee popular around the world. Trung Nguyen coffee has low acidity, moderate bitterness, and an excellent mouthfeel.

Front Street has learned that drinking coffee is a daily habit for Vietnamese people. Vietnamese cafes are very homey and not high-consumption places; an ordinary cup costs just a few yuan. Vietnamese coffee is not brewed in a coffee pot, but with a special drip coffee cup, with an old-fashioned patterned glass placed below, passing the good times drop by drop. To make it, place the drip cup on the rim of the glass, put coffee grounds into the drip cup, press on a perforated metal plate, then pour hot water over it and let the coffee drip into the cup one drop at a time. A more particular method is to place the cup in a large bowl filled with boiling water to keep it warm when making hot coffee, because dripping a full cup may take ten minutes, and hot coffee easily cools. Some people like to put a layer of very sweet condensed milk at the bottom of the cup first, and after all the coffee has dripped in, stir the black coffee and white condensed milk together for a sweet and delicious drink; add ice, and it takes on another kind of charm.

I have drunk coffee from many countries, but this method seems to exist only in Vietnam, and probably only the gentle-natured Vietnamese have such patience: waiting for a cup of coffee to finish dripping, then slowly drinking it. Even at roadside street coffee stalls, the preparation process is not careless in the slightest.

Vietnam has so many cafes that you immediately want to open one yourself. It is no exaggeration: on a not-very-long street there may be five or six. Each city's cafes also have their own temperament and very different styles.

In Hanoi, basically every CAFESHOP has its own unique decorative style. The cafes locals often go to usually have small fronts, with narrow, deep layouts inside, curtains hanging at the entrance, and low tables and chairs. Coffee is very cheap; a cup of black coffee costs only 5,000 dong. There is a chain shop on West Lake, located on the surface of the lake, where you can choose to drink coffee in the cabin or on the boat roof, watching the shimmering lake and lingering boats, feeling especially relaxed. Sometimes you drift into thinking that spending life this way would not be bad either-leisurely and pleasant.

Front Street searched and found the following Vietnamese coffee brands:

1. G7 Coffee

It is the only milk coffee brand on the Vietnamese market, refined using advanced European technology. G7 coffee has great advantages in taste and suitability for consumers. Customers who have drunk G7 coffee will not feel dizzy, restless, or tasteless, nor will it affect sleep or normal work and study. It can bring customers a relaxed and pleasant mood, which is its notable difference from traditional coffee.

2. Trung Nguyen

Vietnam has the saying "Trung Nguyen coffee, Thai Nguyen tea." Trung Nguyen coffee comes in two forms: coffee powder and instant coffee. There are now two major brands, one of which is Trung Nguyen coffee, with rich flavors, relatively aromatic and strong, with a milky fragrance. There are 3-in-1 products, as well as many cappuccino coffees (hazelnut flavor, Irish flavor, and mocha flavor). It has now been fully sold to the Chinese market, and coffee with Chinese and English packaging has just been produced to supply the Chinese market.

3. Vinacafe

Vinacafe has maintained a market share in Vietnam of more than 45%, occupying a leading position. At present, Vinacafe has participated in the China-ASEAN Expo for many consecutive years, and its presence is also often seen at some influential exhibitions in the mainland. VINACAFE selects the famous premium BUONMETHUOT coffee beans, paired with high-quality non-dairy creamer and sugar, offering a natural fragrant aroma and excellent value.

4. Green Highland Coffee

Originating in Vietnam, it is known for its mellow aroma and long-lasting flavor. GREENHIGHLAND 3-in-1 coffee is made from a selected blend of premium non-dairy creamer, sugar, and coffee. It uses a golden ratio, prepared by top baristas, with a mellow aroma and a long finish, giving people a transcendent tranquility amid the noise. GREENHIGHLAND 3-in-1 coffee brings you a truly enjoyable experience as you walk through the bustling city.

5. Sai Gon Coffee

Sai Gon Coffee Food (Vietnam) Co., Ltd. is a Vietnamese overseas Chinese enterprise specializing in the production and sale of "SAGOCAFE" brand coffee. In its early days in Vietnam, it provided OEM processing and coffee raw material supply for many coffee enterprises. At present, it has a subordinate production base in China-Nanning Sai Gon Coffee Food Co., Ltd.-and has now passed the industrial product production license, self-operated import and export rights, and license registration. The company has its own scientific research team, focusing on researching and developing new coffee products and building a coffee ecological economic park. Its products have been exported to countries and regions such as Europe and the United States, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, and the Middle East, with import and export volume increasing year by year.

For friends who want to taste freshly roasted Vietnamese coffee beans, we recommend Front Street's classic espresso blend, priced at 33 yuan/100g, composed of Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans + Indonesian Mandheling coffee beans + Vietnamese Robusta coffee beans. It uses a dark roast, which can maximize the coffee's rich aroma and also allows everyone to easily extract abundant and dense coffee crema. Whether making an Americano diluted with water or a latte paired with milk, it is very suitable. It can be purchased at the Front Street Taobao store or the Front Street Tmall flagship store.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.