Affirming value of Vietnamese coffee on global map

Vietnam is currently the world’s second-largest coffee exporter. Beyond exporting coffee, Vietnam also possesses a distinctive and rich coffee culture.

Do Tan Truong, roasting manager and head of research and product development at TNI King Coffee Co., Ltd., introduces Geisha coffee, one of the most expensive coffee varieties in the world. Photo: B. Nguyen

From December 21, 2025 to January 2, 2026, the Global Coffee Heritage Festival 2025 is held for the first time at Lam Vien Square (Xuan Huong ward, Da Lat), attracting a large number of local residents and domestic and international visitors. Featuring a wide range of highlights, the festival aims to honor coffee heritage through stories recounting nearly two centuries of the coffee bean’s journey in Vietnam, from the earliest plantations to the unique phin-brewed coffee culture.

Experiencing coffee culture

The Global Coffee Heritage Festival 2025, organized by TNI King Coffee Co., Ltd. (Ho Chi Minh City), features an exhibition space comprising 34 booths showcasing coffee products, cuisine, along with a series of cultural, artistic, experiential and networking activities taking place throughout the festival season. Notable activities include on-the-spot coffee roasting and manual brewing demonstrations combined with international coffee culture experiences; exhibitions of ancient coffee beans; the introduction of a coffee-bean artwork made from robusta beans that set a Vietnam record; and the display of a giant coffee cup. These activities become popular check-in attractions for both tourists and local residents.

Vietnam is not only a major coffee exporter but also the cradle of a unique coffee culture. With a series of diverse programs, the festival honors the development of coffee in Vietnam, from the earliest plantations to distinctive brewing and tasting traditions.

The World Records Union – Central Association of Vietnam Record Holders has recognized Vietnam as the world’s largest producer and exporter of robusta coffee in terms of output and productivity. The recognition has also acknowledged Vietnam’s heritage values in unique and distinctive brewing arts, including Ede coffee, sock coffee, and phin coffee. In addition, Vietnam’s coffee blending and tasting culture is highly diverse, creative and unique, reflected in signature beverages such as egg coffee and iced milk coffee.

Notably, visitors to the festival are also able to admire and learn about the artwork Aspiration of Vietnamese robusta coffee — the first artwork created from Buon Ma Thuot robusta coffee beans (Dak Lak) and traditional Vietnamese materials such as coffee powder, burlap fabric, bamboo, rattan, and coffee-based ink, themed around Central Highlands culture.

The exhibition area showcasing coffee and manual brewing methods associated with international coffee culture experiences attracts a large number of visitors. These include the Moka Pot method, invented in Italy in 1933 and considered a symbol of Italian coffee culture; Aeropress, invented in the United States in 2005; and Cold Drip, a brewing method that has recently become popular in Vietnam but dates back to the 17th century in the Netherlands, associated with the stories of sailors seeking to preserve coffee flavor during long sea voyages. Cold Drip uses cold water dripping slowly through coffee grounds over an extended period, producing a smooth cup with lower acidity and bitterness compared to hot brewing methods. In the 20th century, Cold Drip gained widespread popularity in Japan, where it evolved into a slow, artistic brewing style known for its purity of flavor and high consistency.

Among these methods, “phin” coffee remains the most iconic symbol of Vietnamese coffee culture, dating back to the 19th century when coffee was introduced to Vietnam by the French. Over time, the small aluminum drip filter called a "phin" has become a familiar brewing tool in households and coffee shops alike. The phin embodies a slow, contemplative drinking style, associated with bold flavor, lingering sweetness and the relaxed temperament characteristic of Vietnamese people. Today, phin coffee remains the most common brewing method, representing the identity and strong coffee taste preferences of Vietnam.

Through this journey of exploring coffee culture, visitors gain a comprehensive picture of a Vietnamese agricultural product that has made its mark on the global market, from the journey of diligent farmers to the art of roasting and brewing, creating aromatic cups of coffee imbued with the passage of time and personal experience.

A major highlight of the Global Coffee Heritage Festival 2025 is the coffee space aboard the heritage train carriage – Heritage journey, staged at Da Lat Railway Station. This space recreates a vintage railway carriage known as the coffee heritage car. The Da Lat Coffee Train is jointly organized by the Saigon Railway Transport Branch, the Railway Transport Joint Stock Company, and TNI King Coffee Co., Ltd. On board, visitors could sip coffee while enjoying gentle violin and saxophone performances by artists moving through the carriages.

Building the Vietnamese coffee brand

In 2024, Vietnam’s coffee export turnover reached USD 5.48 billion. In just the first half of 2025, coffee export revenue nearly matched the entire previous year, reaching USD 5.45 billion. The Global Coffee Heritage Festival 2025 is expected to create momentum for developing the coffee sector under a creative industry model, opening new opportunities for investment, cooperation and export. The festival aims to bring together leading global experts, artisans and enterprises to help reshape the future of Vietnam’s coffee industry toward a sustainable, creative and high-value economic model. It also seeks to establish an annual international meeting point that attracts investment, promotes tourism and opens pathways for global cooperation initiatives, notably the formation of the Vietnam–Global Coffee Alliance (GCA).

In addition to introducing Vietnam’s renowned coffee varieties, the festival also showcases coffee varieties from other countries such as Colombia, Ethiopia and Brazil, including some of the world’s most prized specialties. Particularly impressive was Geisha coffee from the Geisha region of Ethiopia, one of the rarest and most expensive coffee varieties globally, with auction prices reaching up to VND 700 million per kilogram. Geisha coffee is distinguished by its unique and complex flavor profile that cannot be replicated by other varieties, featuring citrus fruit notes, floral aromas and hints of jasmine. Its value is significantly higher than that of other coffees of comparable quality.

Do Tan Truong, roasting manager and head of research and product development at TNI King Coffee Co., Ltd., shared: “I have more than 20 years of experience in coffee roasting because of my passion for this industry. The secret to creating a good product lies in a complete story, from selecting raw materials to processing, as well as understanding the tastes and consumption trends of different regions. Roasters must be meticulous at every stage. First, they must select high-quality beans. Each coffee variety has its own formula and secrets in roasting and brewing. Despite 20 years in the coffee industry, I still feel that I have learned only a small part of this sector. I remain on a journey to explore coffee culture and continuously learn new things.”

At the opening ceremony of the Global Coffee Heritage Festival 2025, Le Hoang Diep Thao, founder and CEO of TNI King Coffee, stated that coffee has been present in Vietnam for more than 150 years. From the early plantations in the Central Highlands, the country now has more than 600,000 hectares of coffee, sustaining the livelihoods of millions of households. Vietnamese coffee is exported to more than 100 countries and territories, contributing billions of US dollars to the national economy. However, the value of Vietnamese coffee lies not only in output or figures, but in its identity, the spirit of persistent labor, and the pride distilled in every coffee bean. This festival, she emphasized, is not merely an event but a long-term journey to preserve, elevate and spread the sustainable values of Vietnamese coffee, especially robusta heritage, within the broader global coffee landscape.

By Binh Nguyen – Translated by M.Nguyet, Thu Ha