Did you know that only Brazil surpasses Vietnam in coffee production, an Asian country that, after 20 years of war and complete ruin, found salvation in this beverage, which has led it to become a world coffee giant, surpassing major producers such as Colombia, Honduras, Peru, and other Latin American countries that have always stood out for the quality of their coffees.
Coffee was introduced to Vietnam by French missionaries in 1857 with a few coffee trees from Bourbon Island, which were planted in the north of the country around the city of Tonkin. However, it wasn't until the beginning of the 20th century that Vietnamese interest in this product began to grow, and some coffee farms were established.
The first turning point in Vietnam's rise to global coffee leadership came in 1969 when the Coronel Coffee Plant, the country's first instant coffee plant, opened in Biên Hòa City, Vietnam. Unfortunately, the escalation of the Vietnam War, which had been raging since 1955, soon paralyzed much of the coffee industry and almost completely halted coffee production in the Buô Ma Thuôt region, where almost all the coffee plantations were concentrated.
At the end of the war in 1975, North and South Vietnam were united under a communist regime. The new country was in economic ruin, but coffee was going to be very important in its recovery. The collective farms established by the system proved unsuccessful. In 1986, the government began growing and exporting coffee on a large scale. The collective farms disappeared, and half a million smallholdings emerged, which led to a staggering 30% annual growth in coffee production in the 1990s.
By 1994, more than half the population lived in poverty, but with the rise of coffee, this had already been reduced to 10% by 2014. Thanks to the coffee industry, Vietnam now provides a livelihood for millions of people living on small plots of land, with farms that have been crucial to its rapid economic growth, which since the 1990s has positioned it as the world's second-largest coffee producer after Brazil.
Vietnamese coffee varieties
Almost all of the coffee produced in Vietnam is of the Robusta variety (of lower quality than Arabica), which is used to make instant coffee. Robusta coffee accounts for over 96% of Vietnam's coffee crops, making it a major source of production for the high-quality commercial coffee giants responsible for supplying the world's supermarkets with the finest instant coffee.
Regarding the highest-quality but low-production Arabica coffee in Vietnam, a committed group of coffee professionals is making progress toward improving Vietnamese Arabica coffee. Currently, much of the Arabica is of the Catimor variety, whose parent is a hybrid of Robusta and Arabica. Some producers are attempting to introduce new varieties, including Yellow Bourbon, Typica, and Geisha. Bourbon, for example, is being grown in the central mountainous terrain with exquisite notes of caramel and dark chocolate. With the support of the Vietnamese government, the future of this coffee will be more diverse, and most importantly, work is being done to produce higher-quality coffee, whether of the Robusta or Arabica variety. The main objective is to increasingly find excellent Vietnamese coffee.
Vietnamese coffee culture
Vietnamese coffee is promoted in different parts of the world. Coffee shops and gourmet stores strive to showcase the quality of a coffee that deserves to be among the world's most important selections. In cities like Paris, Barcelona, London, and New York, Vietnamese beans are imported and roasted in retail establishments, always with the aim of spreading Vietnamese coffee culture.
As for how coffee is consumed in Vietnam, in addition to drinking it with milk, they also mix it with other ingredients such as egg yolk, condensed milk, ice, yogurt, and fruits like banana and avocado.
The Vietnamese coffee maker
It's very similar to French press coffee makers, except for one detail: it uses paper filters. It's known as a "phin coffee maker" or "cà phê phin." It has several features: it's a single-serve coffee maker that allows you to make only one cup of coffee.
The coffee maker sits on top of the cup, meaning if you want to make several cups of coffee at once, you'll need to buy several Vietnamese coffee makers for your home. These aren't expensive, as they're among the most affordable on the market. The Vietnamese coffee maker consists of four parts: the container, the filter, the plunger, and the lid. The coffee is prepared by infusion and poured directly into the cup from which it will be drunk. They also usually have a lock or heat-insulated handle so you can hold the container without burning your hands.
Finally, I'll share with you some interesting facts about coffee tasting in Vietnam, such as the obsession of many local roasters to achieve a very personal flavor for their coffees, which makes it possible to find coffees roasted with oil, with margarine, and with spices such as herbs, fruits, seeds, and flowers on the market. . .