Vietnamese coffee origins
Exploring the Rich History of Vietnamese Coffee
Let’s delve into the origins of coffee cultivation in Vietnam, its journey from a French colonial influence to becoming a significant aspect of Vietnamese culture, and how it has evolved over time. If you’re interested, let’s explore more about this beloved beverage together, shall we?
Where did it come from?
The French officially introduced coffee to Vietnam in 1857. The first coffee seeds were Arabica brought from the island of Martinique and the French Gyuane region in Latin America due to their similar tropical climate and soil to Vietnam. Cultivated in the highlands due to the suitable climate, this coffee bean is experienced first because of its high value when imported back to France.
The first coffee plantation was established in 1888 under French management and ethnic workers.
Since 1914, Robusta from equatorial Africa was gradually brought over for testing but the results were unsuccessful. This is because the residential wasn’t suitable for developing manufacturers, the impact of the politics and Chinese tea still had a strong influence back then.
After large-scale surveys on climate and soil, the French brought coffee to the Central Highlands (Lam Dong, Ban Me Thuot) successfully cultivated the Robusta variety, and quickly produced large quantities.
How did Vietnamese coffee become the world’s top producer?
With the growth of coffee cultivation, by 1937-1938, there were a total of 13 thousand hectares of coffee in Vietnam
Back in 1986, the country joined globalization to promote economic development. The government formed key growing areas, focusing on specialized cultivation and creating opportunities for businesses to participate in commercial coffee production to bring Vietnamese coffee brands to the world.
In 2001, Vietnam officially became the second coffee-importing country in the world, earning our national budget of more than 1 billion USD annually with 3 main types of coffee: arabica, robusta, and lyberica.
Coffee companies began to produce roasted, ground, instant, filter, and machine-brewed coffee with more unique flavours to meet different consumer needs.
Vietnamese iced milk coffee (nâu đá) is made from Robusta beans and ranked 2nd in the top 10 most highly rated coffee drinks in the world.
From 2020 onwards, Vietnamese coffee was mentioned next to the countries with the best coffee in the world with diverse and unique flavours recognized by leading coffee-consuming countries.
Vietnamese Robusta - National’s favourite coffee bean
In the early 20th century, Robusta coffee became the most popular coffee with twice the caffeine content of Arabica beans, creating a more bitter taste.
Known for its dark roast, it often includes flavours such as mocha, chicory, vanilla, butter, or even whiskey making it even more loved.
Because Robusta beans are very suitable for the nutrient-rich red basalt soil in the Central Highlands, they become the type of coffee with the largest output in the country by 90%.
With high productivity, cheaper to produce, easy cultivation, and purchase by many coffee businesses, Robusta has become the most popular type of coffee to serve the needs of the whole country as well as the world.
