Vietnamese coffee has started to gain recognition globally for it quality. The hardy Robusta coffee crop has made Vietnam the 2nd largest producer of coffee in the world and now small independent premium coffee farms have started to make a name for themselves on the global market. The Cricket Hop Co visited K’ho coffee here in Vietnam to discuss the coffee industry and to find out what make their coffee unique.

K'ho Coffee is a cooperative of K'ho families sustainably growing high-quality arabica coffee on Langbiang Mountain, Dalat Vietnam. They currently have 30 families from the K’ho ethnic minority group working together. Collectively they share 50 hectors of land and have around 4000-5000 plants per hector. Fruit from seeds normally takes from 3 - 5 years to reach maturity and the trees can live up to 40-50 years. They need to be trimmed back like the European vine to promote further growth and to control height. They can produce up to 8 metric tons per year.

In 2011 Rolan Co Lieng and husband Joshua Guikema (Founders of K’ho coffee) organised the cooperative, allowing them to cut out the middle man and to give the farmers a better price for their product. It also allowed them to control the quality of coffee as before the buyers used to mix the various beans to create differing blends. Now they harvest 100% Arabica beans which they process themselves to ensure premium quality. Their family enterprise offers fresh roasted, sustainably grown, specialty grade arabica coffee sourced directly from their community for local and international buyers.

“As a craft coffee roaster based on a coffee farm, we have the unique opportunity to bring our coffees directly from the farm to your cup. Through direct trade, we make our coffee available to create more value at origin, creating employment and supporting the local farming economy”. - K’ho Coffee.

“There are many steps that go into making great coffee. From the picking and harvest selection from our high mountain farms, to onsite wet milling, on to drying, hulling, roasting, and finally taste testing the brew, we carefully follow our coffee through each step of the process to ensure the best possible quality”. - K’ho Coffee.

The Volcanic soil of the mountain lowlands are rich in nutrients and minerals gives a special acidity and flavour to the beans. Furthermore growing at a high elevation compacts the tree's development and makes for the best and highest density coffee beans. These beans are packed with aroma, flavour and sweetness.

The organic farming practices which the corporative practice ensures that no pesticides or fertilisers are used, unlike many other robusta coffee plants in the highlands. This makes the coffee a premium product.

There are a number of stages to the process. K’ho coffee have three main methods of coffee processing; washed, natural, and honey process. The careful processing with these craft fermentation techniques influences the acidity and taste of the coffee.

The coffee contains a natural yeast bacteria, so as soon as it is picked it needs to be processed by hand by taking the outer cherry fruit off. Then the beans are allowed to ferment overnight for 18-24 hours in order to remove the membrane. This process is also used in the production of “Weasel Coffee” where the animal ingests the fruit then passes the bean, ready to be collected and processed. All picking of the fruit has to be done by hand and delicately as to not damage the branches for the next harvest. Furthermore it is imperative that the beans are processed straight away so not to over-ferment and alter or spoil the taste. Thus meaning to produce this standard of coffee you need more staff.

The beans are then washed with water and are then transferred to the drying area. The drying process is important, The K’ho farmers choose to dry their beans in a greenhouse in order to regulate the temperature and ensure that the beans do not get exposed to the elements which could affect the crop and cause mould to surface. This is a common problem with Robusta bean production in the highlands, where the natural drying process normally takes around 2 weeks average at high altitude. At low altitude like in DaLat it can take 5-6 weeks.

In terms of productivity and sustainability coffee can only be harvested once a year. Premium coffee has increased in popularity but local farmers are put off from growing it due to the fact that they can grow other vegetables all year round with the use of pesticides and fertilisers to create more food and a better income.

This may work for a growing economy like Vietnam but it is not ideal for the land, as the soil is not allowed to recover and regain its vital nutrients.

This is the same story with intensive agriculture the world over.

Du Lick Moul is an Agroforestry Engineer, Barista, Sales and Roast specialist at K’ho coffee. He studied agriculture engineering and sustainable farming at university. He educates the local framers and also ‘promotes a sustainable coffee supply chain with organic farming, agroforestry practices and ecologically friendly coffee processing methods. He passionately plant and preserves the old-world heirloom arabica coffee varieties.These varieties give the coffee a unique flavour with scents of aromatic, almond, caramel and chocolate.

These old varieties have started to regain popularity again much like the old breeds of chicken which are being brought back for their taste in western Europe. These old varieties have a better taste and have been lost to new age farming techniques including genetic engineering and selective breeding of crops to produce a better yielding coffee plant like the Robusta. The new arabica trees contain 30% robusta and are more immune to fungal diseases but contain less nutrients and flavour. They also grow other fruits in order to balance things out. Planting of such trees also helps shade the coffee beans from direct sun which they do not like. The most common of these fruit as jack fruit, durian, macadamia and persimmon.

The current trends show that the growing demographic of young educated locals with disposable income that traditional coffee such as “dark roasted robusta” are not as popular as the new “Barista Arabica style” which is lightly roasted for improved flavour. Pour over and Cascara (coffee husks used for tea) are increasing more popular and are being used in western chains like Starbucks. Cold brew is yet to kick off here due to habit and purpose but is expected to change due to taste education, western fashion and status associated with premium coffee products.

The easy to grow Vietnamese Robusta is found all over the world in instant coffee. Its bitter taste is traditionally balanced in Vietnam with the addition of condensed milk or even eggs.

“Overall, coffee production has been good for Vietnam, but there have also been significant downsides: deforestation, soil exhaustion, and exploitation of farmers. K'Ho Coffee want to start afresh, by growing coffee in environmentally friendly ways, and putting the profits back in the hands of the grower’ - K’ho Coffee

Since the French colonists introduced coffee into Vietnam in the late 19th century, Vietnam has become the second largest producer of coffee in the world. Quite an achievement for a traditionally tea drinking culture. Now much loved by everyone, coffee production has led to an economic boom contributing to pulling the poverty line down to less than 10% from 60% in 1994. Much of this was thanks to the hardy Robusta coffee tree, a relation of the Arabica coffee tree.

Visit www.khocoffee.com for more information about their farm and values.

Inside the Vietnamese Coffee Industry

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