Vietnamese Coffee Brews Global Dreams

Vietnam has a unique coffee culture with an alluring story. The challenge is finding the right way to tell it.

When it comes to beverages of choice, Asia conjures images of tea for most — from the bitter powdery green matcha of Japan's tea ceremony and China's soothing oolong to India's sweet-spicy masala chai. Through a twist of historical fate, however, Vietnam bucks this trend and has developed one of the most thriving coffee scenes in the world.

Thanks to French colonial influences, the Vietnamese have developed a knack for mixing and brewing a unique style of coffee. They have also perfected the experience of quaffing the brew, elevating it to something of an art.

"It's a gourmet and relaxing experience to brew the coffee one cup at a time at your table. It isn't just the coffee. It's what it means to people in their lives."

In Vietnam, coffee "is meant to be savored, not carried in a cup-holder to work," Len Brault, CEO of Southeast Asian coffee importer Heirloom Coffee, told The Diplomat. He describes the brew as low in acid and "very smooth, even when it is brewed strong." For Brault, the secrets include the blending of three signature species, the nation's basaltic soil, the drying and roasting of the beans, and the special brewing method itself.

Coffee was introduced around 1857 and quickly became a mainstay of the economy, with plantations sprouting up across the country. For Vietnamese, it was imbued with a sense of social decorum from the start: "common laborers drank coffee as a beverage… while the creative classes and intellectuals enjoy slow-dripping their coffee through a Vietnamese phin," said Dang Le Nguyen Vu, chairman of coffee giant Trung Nguyen. For Dang, the slow act of dripping can become a form of non-religious meditation, "helping the drinker slow down and let go of the worries of the day."

While the act of drinking may be a way to unwind, on the business side Vietnam's connoisseurship does not allow for much rest. Last year, Vietnam became the world's largest producer of the coveted bean, surpassing Brazil.