Southeast Asian Coffee Vietnam's Geographical Features and Coffee Origin and roasting

Historically, Vietnam was one of the most important coffee growers and today is the second largest coffee producer in the world (after Brazil), a fact that surprises most coffee consumers.

The history of coffee in Southeast Asia dates back to Dutch and French colonialism in the 18th and 19th centuries. Around 1890, the French established a thriving coffee industry in several parts of the Annam region, a mountainous plateau spanning several countries. Laos and Cambodia may have been earlier participants than Vietnam in terms of coffee. Vietnam eventually became a major producer of coffee in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam and Southeast Asia have fascinating terrains. The location of the mountains is roughly in the same direction as the prevailing wind. There is a north slope, the climate is completely different from the south slope, and there is a wide altitude area suitable for growing different kinds of coffee. Because of this, almost all types of coffee can be grown in ideal or "native" climates up to 3600 feet above sea level. Vietnam's coffee landscape brews six unique varieties and varieties, including Arabica and a "native" sparrow, or Arabica, Robusta, Excelsa (sometimes called Chari), Liberica, Catimor, etc.

First, the topography of the Anamite Plateau is very complex, creating regional microclimates that were observed more than 100 years ago and developed the maximum diversity of bean species and varieties. Coffee comes in two basic ways-single source and multi-source blends. In Southeast Asia, coffee beans come in many varieties, and it seems natural to mix coffee from many origins. Blended bean seeds and varieties are superior in achieving a wide range of flavors, long lasting aftertaste, complex nose, iced coffee performance, overall taste and mouth feel satisfaction.

Over the past decade, South America and other coffee-producing regions have shifted to single-source 100% Arabica coffee, which has limited the taste range and appeal of modern coffee to consumers who prefer blended Arabica coffee. Our own public taste tests show that 70% of consumers respond better to coffee blends, which taste about the same as Robusta and Arabica. Therefore, Vietnamese coffee blends are more attractive than single-source 100% Arabica coffee. Consumer comments usually go something like this: "This is how coffee used to taste!" "I didn't know coffee tasted like that!"

Second, baking preferences established decades ago favor lower temperatures and longer baking processes. What we call dark "French" roast today probably didn't originate from high roasting, but rather a slow and prolonged roasting that resulted in consistent color throughout the beans, darker in color, but without blistering or burning. This distinction is important because many Americans now associate French barbecue with the roast coffee that is common in certain coffee chains. Burning coffee causes the breakdown of sugar and oil, and coffee oxidizes and ferments rapidly once exposed to air. These defects do not appear in Southeast Asian black barbecue, which is relatively stable.

Third, beans are usually baked in so-called "yellow oil," which may or may not be true clear yellow oil. Vegetable oils are occasionally used, and historically, traditional "indigenous" coffee roasting has involved using small amounts of sugar, oil, and vanilla or cocoa powder to create an almost caramel-like coating effect. The coating blackens when baked, and the beans end up almost as a thin, hard shell. Why would you do that? Robusta beans mature particularly slowly in the bush, and pickers usually pick immature beans at the same time as ripe beans. Traditional coatings give all beans a similar color. The presence of some immature beans did not affect the overall taste of the mixture. Modern growers, however, pick only ripe beans, and despite the extra labor required and the lack of such coating during baking, they choose simple oil points to make the beans easy to flip during slow baking.