Overview of Robusta coffee in Vietnam

Robusta is a type of coffee used as the main ingredient for brewed coffee in Vietnam. Nearly 90% of coffee in Vietnam is grown with Robusta coffee, especially in the Central Highlands and Buon Ma Thuot. As you know, Vietnam is the largest exporter of Robusta coffee in the world. But not everyone is knowledgeable about this type of coffee. In the following article, Huongmai Cafe will introduce you to the main coffee of Vietnam.

Robusta comes from the word “robust” – meaning strong. As such, Robusta means a strong-tasting, caffeine-rich coffee. Robusta coffee has the scientific name Coffea Robusta, also known as Robusta coffee, has a caffeine content of 2 - 4%, has a sharper taste, rounder and smaller beans than Arabica coffee beans. In fact, Robusta is a type of coffee recently discovered and quickly grown in popularity in many countries around the world. Advantages of this coffee tree are easy to care for, easy to grow and highly resistant to pests and diseases. In Vietnam, Robusta coffee is the Vietnamese name called Voi coffee.

robusta-coffee

Robusta originated in West Africa, from the Belgian Congo, then was brought by the Dutch to Java - Indonesia to grow and develop in 1876 instead of Arabica Typica, which suffered from defoliation disease and gave poor yield. In Vietnam, Robusta is the main coffee tree.

Characteristics of Robusta coffee plants

Robusta coffee trees have the form of trees or shrubs, the height of the mature tree can be up to 10m. Coffee berries are round, the seeds are smaller than Arabica beans. The caffeine content in Robusta coffee beans is about 2-4%, while in Arabica coffee is only about 1-2%.

Like Arabica coffee, 3-4 year old Robusta coffee trees can begin to harvest. The tree produces seeds for about 20 to 30 years. Robusta coffee prefers to live in the tropics, the suitable altitude for planting is under 1000m. The preferred temperature of the plant is about 24-29°C, and the rainfall is over 1000 mm. Robusta coffee plants need more sunlight compared with Arabica coffee. Robusta coffee has less sour taste than Arabica (lower acidity), but has a more bitter and smoky taste than Arabica.

characteristics-of-robusta-coffee-plants

Robusta trees are strong and sturdy, have resistance to diseases, so they usually give much higher yields than Arabica. Although Robusta coffee contains higher caffeine content and has a less pure taste than Arabica coffee, so it is underrated. The price of Robusta coffee is usually much cheaper than Arabica coffee.

Robusta coffee in Vietnam

In Vietnam, Robusta coffee is grown mainly in the Central Highlands, mainly focusing on 5 Central Highlands provinces including Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong. Some midland provinces also grow Robusta coffee. Vietnam has famous Robusta coffee growing areas. In which, the most prominent is Buon Ma Thuot, currently the coffee capital of Vietnam. Along with that, Robusta coffee in Buon Ma Thuot is also promoted as a geographical indication for Vietnam's high-quality Robusta coffee. In general, compared to Arabica coffee, the production of Robusta coffee in Vietnam today is a very large number. Vietnam's Robusta coffee output in peak periods reaches 1.5 to 1.7 million tons, up to 25 times higher than Arabica coffee production (60,000 tons). Robusta coffee is really Vietnam's strength, helping to make our country number 1 in the world in exporting Robusta coffee.

It can be said that Robusta is very popular in Vietnam. Along the length of the country, many people are passionate about Robusta beans. It may be because Robusta has a lower cost than Arabica or the supply of Robusta is more abundant. But the main reason certainly comes from the culinary habits of Vietnamese people. Robusta is popular here simply because it meets the preferences of drinkers. Vietnamese cuisine is distinguished by its rich taste due to the habit of using fish sauce and fish sauce. And Robusta has a bitter, bold, less sour taste with high caffeine content to help keep awake, which has quickly been loved by many people. In terms of roasting, there are also differences, Robusta must be roasted very dark or extremely dark and in most cases buttered to create the rich flavor of brewed coffee.

 robusta-coffee-in-vietnam

Unlike the West, Vietnamese people drink coffee slowly. Coffee will be brewed by filter and drinkers are willing to wait, be it alone or talking with friends. After 5-10 minutes of waiting, the finished coffee will be mixed with condensed milk and served cold with ice cubes because Vietnam is a tropical country, the weather is hot and humid. A standard cup of iced milk coffee is usually dark roasted Robusta coffee with butter, which, after brewing with a filter, will dissolve evenly in condensed milk, cool and add ice. Therefore, in Vietnam, drinking coffee in most cases is about enjoying, experiencing and contemplating, not simply a refreshing drink, drinking quickly to fill the caffeine deficiency. Drinking coffee in Vietnam is merely a cultural practice, drinking to create memories, reminisce and save memories.

The above article Huongmai Cafe has been collected, edited and supplemented, hopefully the above article will also provide you with more knowledge about coffee.