All about Vietnamese coffee for tourists

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Coffee in Vietnam, varieties and varieties

One of the things you should definitely bring from Vietnam is Vietnamese coffee. You can buy it both for your own use and as a gift for relatives and friends, especially since there are gift packages on sale complete with a special Vietnamese Cup for brewing. There are no restrictions on its export from the country and import into the Russian Federation, as long as it is not commodity lots, otherwise the customs may have a question at the entrance, and its weight did not exceed the restrictions for carrying luggage on the plane.

Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk

For most Russians and citizens of other countries of the former USSR Vietnamese coffee is still unknown, however Vietnam is the world's second largest coffee exporter after Brazil, supplying more than 18% of the world's total production to foreign markets, and this figure is growing. It is not yet possible to meet it on the shelves of Russian stores in its pure form under Vietnamese brands, and therefore the only option to get it is to bring it with you from trips to this country. You can also buy it in Russia in online stores, but the price with delivery will be 3-4 times higher than at home. True, there is an opinion that the cheapest Vietnamese coffee is processed and sold here under the guise of world brands.

Coffee on a plantation in Vietnam

Coffee from Vietnam is without exaggeration wonderful. Perhaps, to some special connoisseurs of this drink, it may seem too rough and bitter, which is due to the characteristics of the variety grown (but more on that below), but it is certainly not worse than the one that lies on the shelves of our supermarkets. After all, even the most inexpensive varieties of coffee from Vietnam are clean, without impurities of husks and dust, which, apparently, are added by manufacturers-packers in the Russian Federation to the raw materials to increase profits.

Mainly in Vietnam, a variety of Robusta (Robusta) is grown, which is considered more bitter and less refined than Arabica. At the same time, Robusta has twice as much caffeine, which just gives this drink a miraculous invigorating effect. Arabica is also produced, but this variety is 30 percent more expensive, and there is very little of it. There are other varieties of Culi, Royal Special, Mocca and others. Packages of ground coffee are sold mainly in the form of blends of varieties, which, according to gourmets, is better than the pure variety.

Several brands of coffee from Vietnam

Elite varieties are also sold everywhere, including the famous Luwak Coffee (from mongoose) and Weasel Coffee (from weasel). The last two species are native to Indonesia, although they took root well in Vietnam. This coffee is made from animal feces, for which they are first Fed fresh grains, and then these grains, partially digested, are cleaned and prepared for sale. However, given the volumes they are sold here, the conclusion is that this is a fake, especially since in 2017 one of the largest companies Trung Nguyen was caught supplying fake Luwak to restaurants. In any case, if you are not an expert and a gourmet, you will not feel the difference between these types and simple varieties, but you will overpay tenfold. Therefore, we would not recommend purchasing these varieties.

As for grains by weight, they are found mainly in two pure varieties – Robusta and Arabica. Moreover, Arabica is a more expensive variety. In order not to get caught on the substitution, the variety is quite easy to determine by The Shape of the grains.:

• Robusta-almost round grains with an even cut in the middle.
• Arabica-elongated oblong grains with an uneven cut in the form of the letter S.

The difference in arabica and Robusta grains

Where to buy coffee in Vietnam

It is believed that it is best to buy Vietnamese coffee at the market in the city of Dalat, in the vicinity of which it grows on fat plantations. In part, this is true, and the choice of grains there is huge, and the prices are not bad. But in fact, it is not necessary to go to Dalat, and you can easily buy it in any city and at any Resort in Vietnam.

Personally, we (the authors of the site) prefer to buy it in supermarkets, especially in big ones like Go (Big-C). There are Go (Big-C) supermarkets in almost every major city, but they are not always located near tourist areas, so any other large supermarkets nearby will do, and the larger it is, the lower their prices. In addition, in Go (Big-C) you can often find "yellow price tags" with a real discount, sometimes up to two times lower in comparison with prices for the same variety in other stores. And in general, buying coffee in the supermarket is Cheaper. The only drawback of buying in supermarkets is a modest choice of grain coffee by weight and the chance to "get" into poor quality, for example, burnt coffee or a bad harvest. In general, it is not uncommon for shares with red price tags to sell substandard coffee, so be careful when buying: inspect and sniff.

Much higher prices in markets and specialty shops on the streets of tourist areas. The same varieties and packages are there one and a half to two times more expensive, but there is a choice of grain by weight. But in these stores and markets you can bargain, so it is best, if time permits, first look at the prices in the supermarket, and therefore already go to bargain.

Well, you should not buy coffee in specialized tourist stores, where groups of tourists are brought on excursions. Prices in them, according to our observations, are 3-4 times higher than in supermarkets.

Coffee shop in Vietnam

How much does coffee cost in Vietnam

In general, the price of coffee in Vietnam will be lower than in the stores of the Russian Federation, at least 3 times. Here is the price of different brands of ground and grain coffee from the supermarket:

• Cafe Me Trang Arabica (ground, 500 grams) - 58 500 VND (approximately 2.28 USD, see Vietnam's currency and exchange rate)
• Cafe Me Trang Arabica (grains, 500 grams) - 133,700 VND
• Highland Coffee Culi (ground, 200 grams) - 47 000 (1.83 USD)
• Highland Coffee Gourmet Blend (ground, 200 grams) - 39 700 (1.55 USD)
• Trung Nguen House Blend (ground, 500 grams) - 68 500 (2.67 USD)
• Trung Nguen Nau Suc Song (ground, 500 grams) - 50 600 (1.98 USD)
• Trung Nguen Sang Tao 3 (ground, 340 grams) - 68 300 (2.67 USD)
• Trung Nguen Sang Tao 5 (Ground, 340 grams) - 85 500 (3.34 USD)
• Phuc Long Culi (grains, 200 grams) - 46 900 (1.83 USD)
• Phuc Long Robusta (grains, 200 grams) - 46 900 (1.83 USD)
• King Koffee Expert Blend (ground, 500 grams) - 41 900 (1.64 USD)

It turns out that inexpensive ground coffee costs from 83,800 VND per kilogram (from 3.27 USD), and grain from 267 400 VND per kilogram (from 2.63 USD). For comparison, for a kilogram of inexpensive ground coffee in supermarkets of the Russian Federation you need to pay from 800 rubles.

How to make coffee in Vietnamese

You can prepare a drink from grains or ground coffee from Vietnam in the usual ways: in a coffee maker or coffee machine, brew in a Turk, brew in a French press or even just in a cup. But the Vietnamese themselves prefer to cook it in their own special way. For this purpose, a special teapot is used. You can buy such a cup in any store separately, or complete with coffee in special gift sets.

In addition, the Vietnamese are very fond of coffee with condensed milk, and most often it is served in this form in cafes and restaurants by default. If you want black coffee, you should clarify this when ordering. Also very popular drink – ice coffee with ice in large glasses.

So, we will brew coffee in Vietnamese according to the recipe that is usually written on each pack. We will need this very teapot and good natural condensed milk.

1. Add 1-2 tablespoons of condensed milk to the cup, and put a brewing Cup on top of it.
2. Pour 15-20 grams of coffee (2-4 teaspoons to taste) on the bottom of the cup for brewing.
3. Press the mixture with a press (included with a cup), and pour 20 milliliters of boiling water.
4. Wait 15-20 seconds, and add another 45 milliliters of boiling water (as much as possible, to taste).
5. When all the drink "accumulates" in the cup, you can enjoy the aroma and drink.

You can also watch a video on how to brew coffee in Vietnamese.