All About Vietnamese Coffee for Tourists

Coffee in Vietnam, Varieties and Types

One of the things you definitely should bring from Vietnam is Vietnamese coffee. You can buy it both for personal consumption and as a gift for family and friends, especially since there are gift sets for sale complete with a special Vietnamese brewing cup.

There are no restrictions on its export from the country. When importing into the Russian Federation, there are also no restrictions, as long as they are not commercial quantities, otherwise customs officers may have questions. And, of course, don't forget that the weight of your luggage due to coffee should not exceed the airline's allowance for your ticket.

For most Russians and citizens of other former USSR countries, Vietnamese coffee is still unknown, however Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee exporter after Brazil, supplying over 18% of the world's total production, and this figure is growing. It is impossible to find it on the shelves of Russian stores in pure form under Vietnamese brands, so the only way 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 higher than in its homeland.

Coffee from Vietnam is, without exaggeration, wonderful. Perhaps to some special connoisseurs of this drink, it may seem too rough and bitter, which is related to the characteristics of the cultivated variety (more on that below), but it is certainly no worse than what lies on the shelves of our supermarkets. After all, even the cheapest varieties of coffee from Vietnam are clean, without impurities of husk and dust, which, apparently, Russian packaging manufacturers add to the raw materials to increase profits.

Mainly, the Robusta variety is grown in Vietnam, which is considered more bitter and less refined than Arabica. At the same time, Robusta has twice the caffeine, which gives this drink its miraculous invigorating effect. Arabica is also produced, but this variety is about 30% more expensive, and there is very little of it. There are other varieties like Culi, Royal Special, Mocca, and others. Ground coffee packages are sold mainly as blends of varieties, which, according to connoisseurs, is better than a pure variety.

Elite varieties are also sold everywhere, including the famous Luwak Coffee (from civets) and Weasel Coffee (from weasels). The last two types originated in Indonesia, although they have taken root well in Vietnam. This coffee is made from animal feces, for which they are first fed fresh beans, and then these partially digested beans are cleaned and prepared for sale. However, considering the volumes sold here, the conclusion is that these are counterfeits, 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 a specialist and connoisseur, you will not feel the difference between these types and simple varieties, but you will overpay dozens of times. Therefore, we would not recommend purchasing these varieties.

As for loose beans, they are found mainly in two pure varieties – Robusta and Arabica. Moreover, Arabica is the more expensive variety. To avoid being deceived by substitution, the variety is quite easy to determine by the shape of the beans:

• Robusta – almost round beans with a smooth cut in the middle.
• Arabica – elongated oblong beans with an uneven cut in the shape of the letter S.

Where to Buy Coffee in Vietnam

It is believed that the best place to buy Vietnamese coffee is at the market in the city of Da Lat, in the vicinity of which it grows on extensive plantations. This is partly true, and the selection of beans there is huge, and prices are good. But actually, it is not necessary to go to Da Lat, and you can buy it without problems in any city and at any resort in Vietnam.

Personally, we (the website authors) prefer to buy it in supermarkets, especially large ones like Go (Big-C), Lotte Mart, Coop Mart. Supermarkets of these chains are in almost every large city, but are not always located near tourist areas, so any other large supermarkets nearby will do, and the larger it is, the lower the prices. Moreover, in Go (Big-C) you can often find "yellow price tags" with real discounts, sometimes up to half the price compared to the same variety in other stores. And in general, buying coffee in a supermarket is cheaper. The only drawback of buying in supermarkets is the modest selection of loose bean coffee and the chance of getting poor quality: for example, over-roasted coffee or a bad harvest. In general, from our personal experience, it is often precisely non-standard coffee that is sold on promotional red price tags in supermarkets, so be careful when buying: inspect and smell.

Prices are much higher in markets and specialized stores on the streets of tourist areas. The same varieties and packages cost one and a half to two times more there, but there is a selection of loose beans. But in these stores and markets, you can bargain, so it's best, if time allows, to first check prices in the supermarket, and then go bargain.

And you definitely shouldn't buy coffee in specialized tourist shops where tour groups are brought on excursions. Prices in them, according to our observations, are 3-4 times higher than in supermarkets.

How Much Coffee Can You Bring from Vietnam

How much coffee you can bring from Vietnam depends on the customs regulations of the country you are flying to. If you are flying to Russia, then according to customs regulations, you can import no more than 5 kilograms of food products of plant or animal origin. This includes unroasted bean coffee. If you are bringing roasted beans or ground coffee, then this norm no longer applies. And all this means that you can import from Vietnam to Russia:

• No more than 5 kilograms of unroasted coffee beans per person, but their weight is summed up with other food products. I.e., for example, if you are bringing 4 kilograms of fruit and 2 kilograms of unroasted beans, then in total that is already 6 kilograms, which is a violation.
• Roasted beans or ground coffee - no more than 50 kilograms and worth no more than 10,000 euros.

Of course, everything you bring is summed up when crossing the border, because there is a general import norm into the Russian Federation by plane of goods for personal use of no more than 50 kilograms and worth no more than 10,000 euros. And don't forget about the allowances for carrying on the plane according to your ticket fare, because usually you can carry no more than 20-25 kilograms in luggage, and sometimes luggage is not included at all under some ticket fares.

How Much Does Coffee Cost in Vietnam

In general, the price of coffee in Vietnam will be noticeably lower than in Russian stores. Here are prices for different brands of ground and bean coffee from large chain supermarkets:

• Caphe Inspire Blend (ground, 500 grams) – 104,000 dong / 3.95 USD.
• Caphe Expert Blend 2 (ground, 500 grams) – 141,000 dong / 5.36 USD.
• Caphe Expert Blend 3 (ground, 500 grams) – 196,000 dong / 7.45 USD.
• Cafe Me Trang 1 (ground, 500 grams) – 115,000 dong / 4.37 USD.
• Cafe Me Trang Arabica (beans, 500 grams) – 210,000 dong / 7.98 USD.
• Trung Nguen Chephin 1 (ground, 500 grams) – 157,000 (5.96 USD)
• Trung Nguen Chephin 1 (ground, 500 grams) – 157,000 (5.96 USD)
• Highland Coffee T (ground, 200 grams) – 88,500 (3.36 USD)
• Highland Coffee Сuli (ground, 200 grams) – 107,000 (4.06 USD)
• Highland Coffee Moka (ground, 200 grams) – 116,000 (4.41 USD)
• Trung Nguen Sang Tao 1 (ground, 340 grams) – 89,000 (3.38 USD)
• Trung Nguen Sang Tao 2 (ground, 340 grams) – 103,000 (3.91 USD)
• Trung Nguen Sang Tao 3 (ground, 340 grams) – 124,000 (4.71 USD)
• Trung Nguen Sang Tao 5 (ground, 340 grams) – 184,000 (6.99 USD)
• Trung Nguen S (ground, 500 grams) – 79,000 (3 USD)
• Trung Nguen N (ground, 500 grams) – 116,000 (4.41 USD)
• Trung Nguen I (ground, 500 grams) – 93,000 (3.53 USD)

Which Coffee Is Worth Buying (Our Choice)

In Vietnam, dozens of coffee brands from different manufacturers are sold. They are sold in supermarkets, markets, tourist shops, and coffee farms. We only buy in supermarkets, because from our own experience we are convinced that it is cheaper and of good quality there.

We have tried many things and have settled on three brands:

• Highlands Coffee
• Trang Nguyen
• Me Trang

Each of these brands, in turn, has many different coffee options varying in composition, names, and different packaging, but in general, in our opinion, these are products with optimal price and taste. We talk about and show this in more detail in the video at the end of the article.

How to Prepare Vietnamese-Style Coffee

You can prepare the drink from beans or ground coffee from Vietnam using our usual methods: in a coffee maker or coffee machine, brew in a Turkish cezve, brew in a French press, or even simply in a cup. But the Vietnamese themselves prefer to prepare it in their own special way. For this, a special brewing cup is used. You can buy such a cup separately in any store, or in a set with coffee in special gift packages.

In addition, Vietnamese people love coffee with condensed milk, and most often it is served this way in cafes and restaurants by default. If you want black coffee, you should specify this when ordering. Also, a very popular drink is Iced coffee with ice in large glasses.

So, we will brew coffee the Vietnamese way according to the recipe usually written on each package. We will need that very brewing cup and good natural condensed milk.

1. Add 1-2 spoons of condensed milk to the cup, and place the brewing cup on top of it.
2. Pour 15-20 grams of coffee (2-4 teaspoons to taste) into the bottom of the brewing cup.
3. Press the mixture with a press (included with the cup), and pour in 20 milliliters of boiling water.
4. Wait 15-20 seconds, and add another 45 milliliters of boiling water (can be more, to taste).
5. When all the drink "drips" into the cup, you can enjoy the aroma and drink.

Now you can watch our video about what coffee is worth trying and buying in Vietnam, and how to brew it:

This concludes our guide about great Vietnamese coffee. To plan the perfect vacation, read our other materials from the guide: where to go, what to see, how to get there, and so on.