An average Ecuadorean robusta is better than most Vietnamese robustas. Suedhang, the German boutique cafe quoted in the story, has only Ecuadorean and Indian robusta in stock (as canephora, its scientific name), and the Indian variety is only available in a Robusta/Arabica espresso blend, like the one the Boston-based roaster at the end of the article mentions not hating.[1][2]

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...

5: https://leavetheherdbehind.com/collections/all/beans