Courtesy of Kenneth Davids, 21st Century Coffee: A Guide
Vietnam has become by far the world’s largest producer of coffees of the Robusta species. However, Vietnam coffee authorities have recently entered into a determined push to establish their country as a major producer of Arabica coffee as well. So far they have succeeded in respect to volume, but apparently not in regard to quality. Vietnam Arabicas, mainly from the north of the country, have dramatically increased in quantity but remain handicapped by careless harvesting, processing and drying. Consequently, Vietnam Arabicas seldom if ever show up on specialty coffee lists.
This situation may change, of course. No one should underestimate the vigor and determination of the coffee leadership in Vietnam, which turned a country with a landmass 2,400 times smaller than Brazil into the world’s second-largest producer of coffee. But whether the Vietnamese leadership will be able to convert some portion of that huge volume from commodity to quality — either quality Arabica or Robusta — is not clear at this writing.
Vietnam Coffee Ratings and Reviews
Click here to view ratings and reviews of coffee from Vietnam.
