Although Vietnam is the second largest exporter of coffee in the world, coffee from Vietnam rarely gets much attention. This is partially due to the fact that most of the coffee coming out of Vietnam is Robusta (a coffee species generally considered inferior to Arabica). Also, until recently, there has been little incentive to put quality over quantity for exported Vietnamese coffee. Despite it’s marginalized status as an origin, Vietnamese coffee has an interesting history and it’s own unique manual brewing method (the Phin).
To learn more about coffee from Vietnam, I interviewed Harvey Tong, founder of Phin Coffee Club. Besides his passion for spreading the word about Vietnamese coffee, Harvey’s credentials include: growing up on a coffee farm in Vietnam, having ties to his family run Vietnamese Phin factory and writing his senior thesis on the history of Vietnam economic development through the coffee industry.
Who better to talk about coffee from Vietnam than Harvey?
I found Harvey’s insights to be fascinating, opening up the door to a coffee origin I have not explored much. Below is an overview of the history of coffee in Vietnam, including some discussion on traditional Robusta coffee processing and roasting. Here is a follow up post about brewing with the Phin and Vietnamese iced coffee.
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