The Underdog Coffee Bean That Java Snobs Hate Is Finally Getting Some Respect
wsj.com
wsj.com
I was there 8 years ago, and the coffee is absolute crap, even the premium stuff with a fancy hotel.and branding.
When I was there, the landmass had been almost filled with coffee where applicable. It led to lots of income, but efforts were underway to provide loans and education on how to grow better Coffee to utilize the same amount of land, same amount of production, but get more money out of said grown Coffee.
Perhaps this article is an acknowledgement of the hard work of the people of Vietnam to produce more valuable coffee from their land.
I can't say. I can only say it used to be absolutely horrendous, to the point that "Mixto" was a thing. Producers would roast with corn syrup and other stuff to try to make a better coffee bean. The beans really really were that bad.
> When Kentucky was first settled by the adventurous pioneers from the Atlantic states who commenced their career in the primeval wilderness, almost without the necessaries of life, except as they produced them from the fertile soil, they fancied that they had discovered a substitute for coffee in the seeds of this tree; and accordingly the name of coffee-tree was bestowed upon it. But when communication was established with the sea-ports, they gladly relinquished their Kentucky beverage for the more grateful flavor of the Indian berry; and no use is at present made of it in that manner.
I can see why people would hate it after getting used to western coffee.
Maybe it has improved? I was last there just before Covid.
Also when I was last there I had an egg coffee the beans in that could not have been local. It tasted just like a good espresso from NZ. Maybe they're starting to move toward more western flavors?
Yes Vietnam is mainstay of the global instant coffee supply but they do have some good robusta. And if you aren’t convinced go visit Sumatra where robusta also grown and have a local brew. To die for.
Funnily enough Soth Koreans love iced Americano regardless of the season. That's even more watered down than regular Americano or Espresso Freddo. Maybe the coffee equivalent of iced tea.
Support your local coffee roaster.
The bitterness is not as bad as people may think. I'm one that does not mind it.
I recommend it 100%.
I understand why the people drink their coffee like a strong espresso with equal parts sweetened condensed milk.
I've yet to find a good source of beans but the G7 instant does the trick for me.
When my dad had cancer it was one of the few things he could taste while on chemo so he used to have it with his Ensure drinks.
Extremely fragrant Torrefacto-style roasting. Chocolate, butter, caramel notes. I had it black there — no condensed milk or sugar — and bought a bag to brew in the Aeropress at home, also to drink black.
There is almost no complexity in the cup — it's just a very comforting, full-bodied chocolatey flavour. Enjoyable in its own way.
Is Vietnamese coffee blended (eg- with chicory) like madras coffee?
Couldn't speak to Black Sheep Coffee, which is a UK chain and is only opening its first US location in Dallas this week. Despite promoting robusta's higher caffeine content, it also doesn't sell a caffeinated Vietnamese robusta, only from "southern India, Papua New Guinea, Brazil".[3] Despite the founder's dislike of Arabica, Black Sheep also serves it.[4] Only two of their five beans for shipping are robusta; one's a light/medium roast from India suggested only for espresso, and the other—which is from Vietnam—is decaf.[5]
tl;dr: If you can get an Ecuadorian or Indian light roast robusta/canephora, it probably won't be terrible. Or you can just get a local roaster's average-quality bean and not worry about it.
1: https://www.suedhang.org/en/product/chakra-warmi-en/
2: https://www.suedhang.org/en/product/cuerpo/
3: https://dallas.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/black-sh...
4: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/black-sheep-coffee-lo...