On a misty spring morning on Hanoi’s Van Mieu Street, a typical scene takes shape. A monk in mustard robes steps out of an SUV and puzzles over how to pay for parking. A pyjama-clad saleswoman peddles earbuds to bemused tourists. Athletic youths wrestle an antique wooden carving down an alleyway. This all plays out in front of the Temple of Literature, a century-old centre of learning distinguished by its curved-roof pavilions and stately centenarian trees.
The historic site and tableau unfolding before it all are best enjoyed from a window stool at Refined Specialty Coffee . At first glance, the bucolic, light-filled temple and the moody, low-lit, blackpainted coffee bar have little in common. On deeper reflection, both channel a distinctly local character. “I love the peace of the space,” says Vu Dinh Tu, who opened the coffee bar in 2020. “It fits my style.”
A local coffee culture rooted in Robusta
Refined is known for Vietnamese drip filter coffees, including the humble nau (with condensed milk) and the playful gia dua (with coconut). More importantly, Refined specialises in selecting, roasting and brewing premium homegrown Robusta beans, as opposed to imported Arabica. “Everyone talks about Arabica,” says Vu, “but we have amazing Robusta in Vietnam, and it suits our palate.”
While baristas prize Arabica for its smooth, bright notes that suit espresso-based drinks like a flat white, they generally regard Robusta as too bitter. This quality is one reason Vietnamese coffees pair well with sugar or condensed milk: sweetness tempers the Robusta bean’s bold, earthy flavour.
The French introduced Arabica to Vietnam in the mid-1800s, but a century later, it was clear that Robusta grew better in the country’s warm, wet highland climates. By the 1990s, economic reforms powered mass Robusta production, making Vietnam the world’s second-largest coffee producer today. However, as Vietnam’s status as an exporter grew, Robusta’s reputation declined, largely because most of it was industrially grown, ultra-processed and reserved for cheap instant coffee.
But a new epoch is brewing. “For 20 or 30 years, Vietnam focused on quantity. Now we’re finally focusing on quality. If we grow properly, harvest properly and dry properly, the quality changes completely,” says Vu.
For Vu, business is the proof that the new brew is working. “At first, when I told customers I was serving Robusta, they walked out. So I changed my strategy: I let them taste the coffee first. After they said it was good, only then did I tell them it was Robusta.”
Educating drinkers and elevating perception
The area around Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City’s French Quarter was a trading hub for centuries before the current market hall was constructed in the 1910s. Today it overlooks one of the liveliest intersections in the city, buzzing with both traffic and human activity. A courier on a motorbike balances deliveries between his knees while shouting orders to a streetside food vendor. Nearby, tourists huddle beneath the shade of the market’s clock tower. Providing a contrast to the chaos, while still channelling the neighbourhood’s heritage, is Lacàph Coffee Experiences Space , on the upper floors of a French terraced house just a few streets away.
Like Refined, it celebrates Vietnamese speciality coffee made with Robusta, including ca phe trung (egg coffee) and ca phe muoi (salted coffee). Lacàph also organises workshops where visitors learn how these drinks are made.
Timen Swijtink founded Lacàph in 2020, and much like Vu, has encountered scepticism. The Dutchman likens Vietnam’s current coffee scene to South Africa’s wine industry in the late-nineties: “It’s an emerging region that has to explain its products in a more accessible way.”
To broaden the conversation, this July, Swijtink is launching Farm Coffee Bar, a reservation-only space that celebrates premium Vietnamese Robusta. Each serving will come with detailed information about the beans’ origin, the farmers who grew them and how they were processed. “We’re bringing coffee back to the farm and reconnecting the cup to its origin,” he says.
Credit: trangiap/Getty Images
How Vietnamese Robusta is going global
Vu and Swijtink have both launched ventures that are carrying Vietnam’s coffee culture beyond the country’s borders. In 2024, Vu created Phinoi , a line of Vietnamese filters that pair improved functionality with a playful, contemporary look. And last year, Swijtink debuted Bold84 , a premium, all-natural canned coffee that is already a two-time World Taste Award winner.
Credit: sjpark/Getty Images
Both products are now available across Asia and the US, a sign that Vietnam is exporting not just its beans but also its ideas, innovations – and identity.
Where to try a cup of Robusta coffee in Vietnam
Refined
The café has three locations in Hanoi:
- 43 Van Mieu
- 17 Nha Tho
- Nha 2 Ngo 57 Lang Hạ
Lacàph Coffee
220 Nguyen Cong Tru, Ho Chi Minh City
Bold84
Beans and canned coffee can be bought at Lacàph or via online retailers such as Amazon.