The bean explains the cup
| Figure | |
|---|---|
| World ranking | Second largest producer, after Brazil |
| Robusta share | 97 per cent of output |
| Coffee introduced | 1857, by French missionaries |
| First plantations | 1888, in Ninh Binh and Quang Binh |
| Main region | Central Highlands, especially Dak Lak |
| Exported in 2023 | 1.62 million tons |
Disclosure: VietSIM sells prepaid eSIMs for Vietnam. We do not sell coffee, and this page will not tell you a roaster is the one true source.
Why it tastes like that
Almost every complaint a visitor has about Vietnamese coffee comes from expecting arabica and getting robusta. Robusta is 97 per cent of the national crop. It is stronger, more bitter, heavier in caffeine and it does not behave like an Italian roast.
Once you stop comparing it, the logic is obvious: a small cup, a slow drip, and condensed milk to balance it. Everything about the ritual follows from the bean.
A short history
French missionaries brought coffee in 1857 and the first plantations were set up in 1888 in Ninh Binh and Quang Binh. Production moved to the Central Highlands in the 1920s, and Dak Lak is now the centre of it, with Da Lat’s plateau further south growing coffee alongside tea, artichokes and flowers.
Vietnam exported 1.62 million tons in 2023 and sits second in the world after Brazil. That is not a boutique industry, and it is why the coffee is cheap, good and everywhere.
What to order
- Ca phe sua da. Iced, with condensed milk. The default, and the one to start with.
- Ca phe den da. Iced and black, for people who want the bean without the sugar.
- Bac xiu. More milk than coffee. What you order at four in the afternoon.
- Ca phe trung. Hanoi’s egg coffee, a whipped yolk cream over hot coffee, closer to a dessert than a drink.
- Ca phe muoi. Salt coffee, from Hue, which sounds wrong and is not.
Drinking it properly
The phin sits on the cup and drips for four or five minutes. That interval is the reason Vietnamese cafes have low stools facing the street rather than tables facing each other: you are meant to sit, watch and take your time.
If you want the coffee at the source, the Central Highlands is where it grows, and Da Lat is the easiest part of it to visit. Ice and hygiene sit in the same place as everything else you eat, which is covered in Vietnamese street food.
Paying is cash and small notes, as set out in Vietnamese money. And if you plan to sit in cafes working, the data question is in how much mobile data for Vietnam, with the plans in the Vietnam eSIM store.