Wondering how the famous Vietnamese Coffee is processed? How you can produce, source and export premium quality beans in Vietnam? Know these 5 amazing facts!
Vietnamese coffee is world-famous for its unique taste and production process. Vietnam is among the largest coffee producers in the world. Here, we will talk about the unique coffee production process used in Vietnam.
In 2018, Vietnam exported more than 3.5 billion worth of coffee by value, it eventually boosted the country’s economy.
Robusta coffee beans are the most popularly grown coffee variety in Vietnam. While in some other areas even the Arabica coffee beans are cultivated by the locals. In Vietnam, Robusta coffee beans are more popular than the Arabica beans because of the cheaper rate of robusta.
Let’s look into the process of the production … But before let’s interview a coffee enthusiast about his perspective about Vietnam coffee : trends, misconceptions and assumptions foreigners are having about Vietnam coffee beans.
Exclusive interview : producing, sourcing and exporting
Guillaume from Movetoasia invited a coffee enthusiast to discuss the trends, common assumptions foreigners are having about Vietnamese coffee, and actual facts. In the last years : farmers and coffee experts have been spreading positive influence about premium quality coffee beans in Vietnam.
This video is a must-watch if you are currently considering :
- sourcing premium coffee beans in Vietnam
- exporting high quality arabica and robusta beans from Vietnam to overseas
- understanding in details the coffee market and trends in the country
Find more information about how you can source premium quality beans in Vietnam by checking this updated resources on movetoasia.com.
Plantation and growing of coffee bean in Vietnam ?
Coffee plants are quite similar to tea plants. The topography need for growing coffee is sloping plain which is also similar for tea plants. The sloping topography is usually chosen to avoid water-logging at the surface. Coffee plants cannot be grown in an area where rainwater gets collected and stands there in such cases coffee plants usually die. The common height of a coffee plant is around two to three feet but it has the potential to grow up to a height of six feet.
For the coffee plantation to begin with the ground need to be plowed at least 3 – 4 times before plantation. After the plantation process gets over a few farmers go for a special technique to grow the plants more quickly. In the case of coffee plantation soil usually requires more moisture and humidity to remain moist. With its growth, the plant bears coffee cherries on it. Those cherries contain the coffee beans from where the coffee is produced.
Processing of Vietnamese coffee cherries
After the plant grows fully matured, at the final stage the coffee cherries are processed to take out the beans from it. The two most popular processes to scratch out the beans from the cherries are :
- The dry method
- The wet method
1) The Dry Method : under the sun in Vietnam
In this method, first of all, the impurities are removed from the cherries. It is done through winnowing. Winning is an effective physical process to remove unwanted substances from the main course. It is used in various agricultural processes. Then the cherries are cleaned thoroughly.
Then are dried for several days. The drying process is usually done naturally with the help of sunlight. The cherries are placed on a clean concrete surface and left there for several days until they get fully dried up. To ensure the drying process is efficiently done the cherries are rotated regularly. But the process has been advanced in recent years instead of drying under the sunlight the cherries are dried under machines. It is usually done to speed up the process and to ensure higher efficiency. But during the entire drying process, utmost care is needed because if the cherries get over dried they become brittle. And the entire effort gets ruined. And also if the cherries are left with even a little moisture in them then it may easily be destroyed by fungi and bacteria. So, the process of drying up is extremely important.
At last, after the completion of the drying process, the outlying shells are removed from each cherry. When the cheeks are removed two green coffee beans pop out of it. And the hot coffee that we enjoy is prepared from these small beans only. The process of removing tge shell and preparing the final piece is usually done by hand but some processing units use the hulling machine for it.
2) The Wet Method to remove impurities
As the name suggests the process is done in liquids. In this method, the cherries are washed thoroughly to remove impurities, then they are soaked just after they are harvested. Then the soaked cherry pulps are made to go through a de-pulping machine. In the machine, the outer layer of the cherry is automatically removed from the bean this they get separated on one go.
After the beans are separated they are kept for fermentation for around 2-3 days. While the beans get fermented special care must be taken so that they don’t get soar or acquire any unpleasant smell.
During the fermentation process, the pulp’s enzymes crack up the remaining bits of paste on each bean. For most coffees, mucilage removal through fermentation takes between 8 and 36 hours. It relies on the temperature, thickness of the mucilage layer, and concentration of enzymes. After the fermentation was completed, then the coffee beans were washed with clean water in tanks.
After the beans get fully separated from the other layers they are then finally dried.
Storage of Coffee Beans in Vietnam
After the beans are finally ready they become crunchy and attractive, during the process even some beans get crushed and the crushed beans are considered to be the bad quality ones. They get separated from the fine quality beans. The high-quality coffee beans are then stored safely. Storage is an essential part too because if the beans are not well stored or if they get exposed to the moist environment they deteriorate their quality gradually.
Exporting arabica and robusta coffee from Vietnam
After the coffee beans are being stored, the process of exporting coffee is not that easy. The export of standard coffee beans based on a lot of factors issued by the government, the first step is the sampling of coffee beans. A sampling of coffee beans done according to TCVN 5702-1993. After the sampling is complete, the coffee beans are being analyzed In the analysis, the coffee beans ranked in division 1,2,3. After this review, the beans are being packed. After the packaging, all the sacks were then gathered in a safehouse. From that safe house, the bags of coffee beans were then sent to airports, harbors, and railway stations to transport them to different countries.
Coffee from Vietnam smells different and unique! Even if robusta coffee is the main reason why Vietnam is famous for, current trends and quality improvements are showing how Vietnam can become a trade leader in premium coffee beans in the next years.
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Source: Vietnam Insider