Letter From Dak Lak
Beyond bitter: Vietnam brews a new image for robusta, one sip at a time
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Aeroco’s owner Le Dinh Tu (far left) drinking coffee with visitors at the cafe on his farm near Ea Kao Lake in Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam’s coffee capital in Dak Lak province, on June 30.
ST PHOTO: NGA PHAM
- Vietnam is working to reposition robusta as a premium coffee.
- Farmers and coffee companies are investing in sustainable farming, branding and processing.
- The goal is to export not just coffee, but Vietnamese coffee culture.
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BUON MA THUOT, DAK LAK, Vietnam – “Have a sip and tell me what you can taste,” says Aeroco Specialty Coffee Farm owner Le Dinh Tu, as a server passes around tumblers of iced black coffee.
The freshly brewed coffee has a subtle aroma of pineapple with a hint of durian, the prized tropical fruit just coming into season in Dak Lak, a mountainous province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands about 350km by road north of Ho Chi Minh City.
