Vietnam
Vietnam first started growing coffee in 1857 when the French introduced it. Since then Vietnam coffee production has gone through ups and downs. When the Vietnam War broke out, production was disrupted. Only in 1986, companies were once again allowed to enter coffee production and since then it has boomed. Today Vietnam exports almost one million tonnes of coffee, their second biggest export after rice. The industry employs about 2.6 million people, with most of the farms being two to three acres in size. Vietnam is the second biggest producer after Brazil, out of total production 97% is Robusta coffee, which contributes to 40% of total Robusta in the world. The major coffee growing region is the Buôn Ma Thuột region, but expansion into other areas is increasing and production of Arabica is expected to increase with it.
Growing Vietnam
Reference notes on the crop itself. Lot-level detail is confirmed with the desk coffee by coffee.
- Harvest
- October to January, with the Central Highlands peak November to January. The season opens 1 October as the rains end.
- Altitude
- 500 to 1,200 m, and it splits by species: robusta 600 to 800 m, arabica 1,100 to 1,400 m.
- Varietals
- Robusta clones TR4 through TR15 and TRS1, with TR14, TR15 and TRS1 most widely planted; arabica is roughly 99% Catimor
- Processing
- Natural / dry process dominates, with nearly 80% of post-harvest processing done by sun drying; washed is used mainly by large-scale producers
- Growing regions
- The Central Highlands: Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum, with smaller areas in the northwest at Son La and Dien Bien