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Vietnam's Coffee Market

A GUIDE TO THE BEST ARABICA IN VIETNAM: HIGHLAND CAU DAT ARABICA COFFEE

by Thao
written by Thao

Vietnam has long made its name on the global coffee market with Robusta Coffee. Although Vietnam produces primarily Robusta, the country also has Arabica coffee varieties that are often regarded as the world’s most excellent. And as Arabica is grown only in the region with high altitude, climate and soil suitable, only a few regions in Vietnam can meet this requirement. The Cau Dat area of Da Lat, Lam Dong is one of a few lands growing coffee that is acknowledged as a paradise for the most delicious Arabica in Vietnam. Read on to find out more about high quality Cau Dat Arabica.

Cau-Dat-Farm-that-grow-Cau-Dat-Arabica

1. Brief history of Cau Dat Arabica from Dalat, Lam Dong

There are three main types of Arabica coffee grown in Dalat, Lam Dong: Bourbon, Typica, and Catimor. The most well-known Bourbon descendent variety is Arabica Bourbon, often known as Moka. It is well-known not only in Vietnam, but also around the world for its high quality. During the colonial period, French missionaries brought Moka to Vietnam in 1875. Following that, they developed some Moka-cultivation farms. Nowadays, Moka is still cultivated in Cau Dat district of Dalat Province. Many people have tried to grow this kind in places other than Dalat, but the farmer is unable to produce the same high–quality fruits. Moka is known as the Queen of Coffee because of its deep and unique flavor with a wine scent.

Each year, 2.5 to 3 tons of Arabica Typica are produced in the Cau Dat district, which includes Tram Hanh and Xuan Truong. Only Typica and Bourbon were available in this area prior to 1988. Many coffee experts considered Typica to be the queen of coffee during this time period. Its sweet flavor, silky mouthfeel, and luxurious aroma are well-known characteristics of its cup profile. Typica was increasingly displaced by high-yielding Arabica Catimor, which yields coffee more than 2–3 times as much as Typica, until the 1990s. Despite the fact that significant effort has been made to bring Typica back, its characteristics have rendered it an extremely rare and limited production variety.

Vietnam Coffee Growing Region. Source: caudatfarm

2. Why is Cau Dat Arabica considered Vietnam’s best Arabica? 

Golden geographic advantages that Cau Dat – Da Lat owns

The Cau Dat, which is situated about 24km from Da Lat city in Lam Dong Province, part of the famous Central Highland is a naturally gifted place. The quality of Arabica increases as the altitude increases, and the temperature drops. With an altitude of over 1,500m above sea level, along with a cold climate and foggy weather most of the year, Cau Dat is a paradise for Arabica coffee plants. Located at this high altitude, Cau Dat is surrounded by gorgeous mountains and vast pine trees. This area has several characteristics of a temperate zone region with two distinctive seasons: rainy and dry. The temperature amplitude of the year here ranges from 5 degrees coldest and the highest does not exceed 33 degrees. With the average precipitation of 1562 mm, Cau Dat is often hazy and has high humidity (80%). Combined with soil  which is fertile basalt soil, Cau Dat – Da Lat has 3 golden conditions to be the perfect land for the Arabica coffee trees to grow, which produces very high quality and rich in flavor. 

Cau Dat Farm Coffee in the fog

Local’s experience in growing and processing Arabica coffee

Along with its geographic advantages is the meticulously picking and pruning process. Farmers manually harvest each coffee bean after the growth and development process when the minimum mature fruit rate reaches 95% before taking it home to be processed. Before processing, the beans are cleaned, plucked, and contaminants are eliminated from the beans, which are then hand-picked and sorted into 100 percent ripe coffee. Most common processing methods applied in Cau Dat are Natural processing, honey processing, wet processing in greenhouses or baskets exposed to natural sunlight. Before being sent to the roastery, post-processed coffee beans are carefully stored in plastic bags in a cold atmosphere, avoiding direct sunlight. 

The producing experience over the time of the locals here contribute to the exceptional quality of Cau Dat Arabica. Arabica coffee from Cau Dat has a unique combination of elegant acidity and mild bitterness. It has a rich coffee aroma together with honey and sweet taste. Cau Dat coffee has been described as having the immaculate flavor of a Sunday morning, and consumers who have had it will never forget it. The coffee here is on par with some of the top coffees on the planet. Since 2016, Starbucks has started selling Arabica originating from Cau Dat, Dalat in more than 21,500 stores in 56 countries worldwide.

Mr. Khanh, one of the prominent coffee farmers in Cau Dat. Source: CDIVietnam

3. Protected geographical indication for Cau Dat- Da Lat coffee

The registered certification “Cau Dat Da Lat Coffee” trademark was issued by the Department of Intellectual Property (Ministry of Science and Technology) on October 4th, 2017. This is the legal basis for protection on investment development, in order to enhance the prestige of Da Lat coffee-tea products which are produced and processed exclusively at the altitude of 1,500 meters above sea level. 

With the general direction about developing “Cau Dat Da Lat Coffee” trademark, the government of Da Lat city has set out 5 missions focusing on deploying synchronize in next time. Such as: complete the intensive farming models of high quality Arabica coffee to transfer widely to producers; strengthen promoting agriculture, training for rural labor; build the chain of linking value product; improve the percentage of wet processed Arabica coffee to 100%; find and expand the consumer product market.

TIPC Lam Dong

Viego Global – Your trusted sourcing partner in Vietnam

At Viego Global, we know it’s more than just finding the right coffee supplier since every step of the supply chain requires proper implementation in order to ensure Vietnam quality coffee beans are well delivered to clients. We always try our best to determine the best suppliers, including coffee farms and coffee collectors based on customers’ needs. During research on potential suppliers, discussion and factory visits, we inspect every single thing from business license, capacity, to past orders as well as the equipment and the workers’ competence. This is why Viego Global makes sure that you can reach the best coffee suppliers at the most competitive price from Vietnam.

In order to provide a deeper insight on Vietnam’s Coffee Market, we’ve created this series along with tips on how to select the best beans from Vietnam for your business. Jump to:

 

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Vietnam's Agriculture Market

VIETNAM CASHEW NUTS: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO CASHEW MARKET IN VIETNAM

by Thao
written by Thao

Outdoing many Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam is currently the leading giant in cashew nuts exports in the global market for the last 17 years.  According to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas), Vietnam has maintained its position as the world’s largest producer and exporter of cashew nuts in 2020, exporting an estimated 450,000 tonnes of cashew kernels worth 3.2 billion USD. Being the top producer and exporter, the country has been active in improving product quality and the value of the products. To facilitate your sourcing process, this blog article will provide you with useful information about the Vietnam Cashew market.

Take a look at our main points in this article:

1. The cashew market in Vietnam at a glance.

Located in the humid tropics and blessed with large amounts of fertile red soil, Vietnam is favourable for planting and producing cashew nuts. Cashew nut planted areas in Vietnam have mostly been allocated in the South, especially in the Southeast of Vietnam: Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Binh Thuan, Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Dak Nong. Vietnam’s “cashew capital”, southern province of Binh Phuoc, is home to around 170,000 ha of cashew trees, accounting for half of the country’s total planting area. This province has granted its cashew as geographical indication registration to build national brand for the cashew nut.

Cashew Farming Regions in Vietnam

Cashew Farming Regions in Vietnam by Proportion of Area. Source: Department of Plantation, MARD

Since the early 1980s, Vietnam has been producing cashews throughout the country. Data by Vinacas shows that Vietnam began to ship cashew kernels abroad in 1990 after the association was founded. Nowadays, Vietnam had increased its presence to over 90 countries. It is currently the largest cashew supplier of the United States, China, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

In recent years, there has an effort of the Government for restructuring the industry, maintaining 300 thousand hectares of cashew trees and speeding up solutions to double productivity, even triple. The Government of Vietnam and Vinacas are trying to improve and upgrade the existing processing system, especial introduce new mechanization system in order to save on labor, and bring consistency and cost competitivenessFurthermore, to boost the industry’s growth, Vinacas signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU’s) with Cashew Council and many other trading countries to support trading between the countries.

2. How are Vietnamese Cashew nuts processed?

Cashew harvesting seasons in Vietnam usually starts from January to April, or February to May, sometimes lasting until June depending on the yearly weather. The start of fruiting season is February while April can be considered as the end of the season. Usually, people only harvest once in a year, then the seeds are dried and stored in the warehouse.

Cashews are actually seeds that grow at the base of cashew apples. The cashew kernel comes in a very hard shell that cannot be cracked by hand. Therefore, to soften the outer layer for removal, and to remove the irritant oil, cashews in their shells are boiled or steamed and later sun-dried. They are then cracked one at a time, which is highly labour intensive as it is done manually or without a particular machine. Farmers often use a simple mechanical hand cracker to ensure the cashew kernel remains intact. By doing this, they help reduce production costs, making the processing price of cashew lower than it was there before. Finally, the outer skin of the raw cashew is removed leaving the creamy white nut we are all familiar with. When dry or oil roasted, the cashew turns a golden yellow color. It’s also possible to buy dry roasted cashews with the skin still on. All cashew nuts are then stored by specific sizes and quality. Most kernels can be scorched or unescorted, wholes, or in pieces.

To preserve the products well, it should be packed into PE and vacuumed bags. Processing factory will use CO2 to draw the air out of the tank and replace it with nitrogen or CO2 to avoid mold and harmful microorganisms. This process is optional, depending on customer requirements. The finished products are often packed into 10-kg tin cans.

Cashew kernels from Vietnam

3. Quality certificates and documents required

For exporting to market with strict safety standard, in terms of cashew cultivation technology for sustainable development, various Vietnamese cashew farmers have been applying advanced agricultural production technology to obtain national and international certifications. Below is the list of key quality certificates:

  • Certificate of product compliance with ISO 9001 management system and environmental standards such as ISO 14001
  • Certificate in accordance with ISO 22000 / HACCP
  • FSSC 22000: Food safety certificate
  • VietGAP certificate
  • HALAL certificate (For Muslim-majority countries)

4. Vietnam cashew classifications

Vietnamese cashew nuts are classified into a number of grades according to the AFI 2012 standard: classify based on sizes and colors. Below is some features Of Vietnamese Origin Cashew Nuts Kernel:

  • Size: Medium and small (w240, w320,w450,w500…)
  • Shape: Kidney shape with the big round at the beginning and smaller to the ending.
  • Color: Dark skin inner and nice pale ivory color.
  • Flavor: Cashews have a rich nutty flavor, similar to almonds or peanuts. When pureed, it may be hard to distinguish cashew butter from other nut butter like peanut or almond.

The following are some symbols of types of cashew nuts:

  • W: Wholes
  • S: Splits
  • B: Butts
  • P: Pieces
  • LWP: Large White Pieces
  • SWP: Small White Pieces
  • BB: Baby Bits

In the classification system, the high-quality nuts are usually big, whole-grain, and white nuts. Varieties of cashew plants grown in Vietnam mostly produce small and medium raw nut size. Therefore, W240 might be considered as the best cashew nut of Vietnamese origin. The kernels have medium size, beautiful, pale ivory, whole-grain cashew that has between 220 and 240 nuts/pound (395 – 465 beans/kg).

Viego Global – Your trusted sourcing partner in Vietnam

At Viego Global, we know it’s more than just finding the right Vietnam supplier since every step of the supply chain requires proper implementation in order to ensure Vietnam quality commodities are well delivered to clients. We always try our best to determine the best suppliers based on customers’ needs. During research on potential suppliers, discussion and factory visits, we inspect every single thing from business license, capacity, to past orders as well as the equipment and the workers’ competence. This is why Viego Global makes sure that you can reach the best Vietnam suppliers at the most competitive price.

Apart from Cashew, we also provide insights on other Agricultural products from Vietnam. Jump to: Vietnam’s Coffee Market, Vietnam’s Pepper Market, Vietnam’s Rice Market and also check many other tips for sourcing from Vietnam.

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Vietnam's Coffee Market

VIETNAM HONEY ROBUSTA COFFEE- A GUIDE TO HIGH QUALITY SOURCE OF COFFEE

by Thao
written by Thao

Vietnam is considered to be one of the world’s leaders in coffee production having around 500,000 hectares that bring thousands of tons of high-quality coffee beans. The vast majority of coffee in Vietnam comes from the robusta species, a hardy plant that can grow on lower elevations. Among the 3 standard modern methods for coffee processing, honey processing has started to gain the spotlight to differentiate high quality coffee beans. In this essential guide to Vietnam Honey Robusta, we will walk you through the techniques used in making honey processed coffees in Vietnam.

Vietnam honey Robusta coffee

1. What is the difference between dried, washed and honey processed coffees?

The world’s most popular coffee processing methods are: wet (or washed) process, dried (or natural, unwashed) process, and honey (or pulped natural) process. The most popular processing technique in Vietnam is the natural dry method after harvesting. According to this method, the coffee is dried under sunlight and then removed from the husk or fruit. 

On the other hand, the washed processing method removes all of the mesocarp (also known as mucilage) layer from the outside of the coffee bean before allowing it to dry.

Hybrids between the washing and unwashing exist, which is the honey or natural pulped process. The honey coffee process is the hardest coffee processing method, which bridges the gap between washed and natural coffees. The coffee cherry is pulped and then dried with the mucilage layer on the parchment. Similarly to the washed process, honey beans are separated from the majority of the cherry before being fermented and dried. Similarly to the natural process, honey beans still get to spend some time with the sweet, sticky mucilage layer before being hulled.

2. How is Vietnam Honey Robusta Coffee made?

Honey processing of Vietnam Honey Coffee is a long, dedicated, and labor-intensive process. Below are 6 steps that are involved with honey processing in Vietnam. 

1. Pick only ripe coffee cherries

Farmers start by picking only the ripest cherries from the trees, which contain a high amount of sugar and acids that are important for the fermenting process afterwards.

2. Sort defects

They are then sorted by density and color to separate the perfectly ripe cherries from the under and over ripe. Flotation of cherries could be conducted to separate the floaters from the sinkers. Floater berries that have defects are discarded.

3. Pulp

The beans are then pulped from their outer skin. All sinkers are subjected to pulping. What results is a wet-parchment bean―or a coffee bean covered with mucilage. This mucilage layer contains a high amount of sugar and acids which is the key of the honey process. In the other methods, it would be washed or hulled away, but not this one.

4. Fermentate

The coffee beans, still sticky (like honey) with mucilage, are stored to ferment for 1-3 days.

5. Dry

This drying phase is the most intricate and sensitive part of the process.This wet-parchment bean is then laid out on elevated beds for drying. The beans need to be dried at exactly the right pace. If they are dried too quickly, the flavors from the mucilage won’t be absorbed by the green coffee beans. If the beans are dried too slowly there is a chance of over-fermentation where the beans might become mouldy.  The drying time for honey processing can last anywhere from 4 days to 8 weeks or more. The target moisture content to be attained is 12% to 14% MC, which is the allowable moisture for dry parchment coffee beans for storage or milling.

6. Hull

The next process is hulling or milling to remove the hull or parchment covering the coffee bean. After that, the beans could be followed by polishing to remove the silver skin, the final covering of the coffee bean, which is an optional step. 

Vietnam honey coffee beans

The mucilage layer – Photo by Stanislaw Szydlo

3. What does Vietnam Honey Robusta Coffee taste like?

As the honey process is the combination of washed and natural process, honey Robusta coffee beans attempt to combine the best flavor attributes from both methods into one. Washed coffee has the advantage of avoiding the off flavors (such as fermentation, or worse, rotting) that can develop in natural processed coffees due to poor handling, whereas natural coffee has the advantage of containing more of the coffee fruit’s flavors into the coffee bean. The result of the honey process is usually a coffee with fine elegant attributes associated with the pure washed coffee coupled up with the body sweetness of the natural coffee.

When tasting a honey processed coffee, you always notice a distinct sweetness to it. This is largely due to the amount of time the beans get to spend with the mucilage. Those caramelized sugars seep in during the fermentation and drying process. It will result in a coffee brew with an exciting taste that has good clarity and a mellow acidity like washed coffees, also a heavy-bodied and sweet flavor like natural coffees.

High quality honey processed coffee

High quality honey processed Robusta coffee beans from Vietnam

4. Where to buy honey Robusta in Vietnam?

As a giant in the coffee industry, Vietnam has long been dominated by Robusta, which makes up more than 96% of the coffee crops. For its export sales, and its vibrant local coffee culture, Vietnam has established a good reputation as a source of mass commercial Robusta coffee. However these days, the growth of specialty coffee industry combined with low prices for commercial robusta coffee has encouraged Vietnamese coffee farmers to grow and process higher quality Robusta coffee, especially the honey processed coffee. 

Main Robusta coffee growing provinces are located in the Central Highlands, including Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum. This area has many legends about coffee such as the Buon Ma Thuot brand. There are some geographic indications of the coffee regions (‘Buon Ma Thuot’, ‘Cau Dat – Da Lat’ and ‘Son La’) known for their quality, sweet aroma and strong flavor resulting from the soil characteristics. It is not difficult to find farms and factories that use honey mothed to process their coffee beans. However, to have access to an authentic and high quality source of honey Robusta coffee, you will need to spend some quality time on researching the suppliers and walking through Vietnam’s coffee market. It’s worth reading through our blog on “How to find Wholesale Coffee Suppliers in Vietnam”. 

Viego Global – Your trusted sourcing partner in Vietnam

At Viego Global, we know it’s more than just finding the right coffee supplier since every step of the supply chain requires proper implementation in order to ensure Vietnam quality coffee beans are well delivered to clients. We always try our best to determine the best suppliers, including coffee farms and coffee collectors based on customers’ needs. During research on potential suppliers, discussion and factory visits, we inspect every single thing from business license, capacity, to past orders as well as the equipment and the workers’ competence. This is why Viego Global makes sure that you can reach the best coffee suppliers at the most competitive price from Vietnam.

In order to provide a deeper insight on Vietnam’s Coffee Market, we’ve created this series along with tips on how to select the best beans from Vietnam for your business. Jump to: 

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THE BENEFITS OF SLIM COFFEE: HOW IT CAN BE PART OF YOUR HEALTHY BALANCED DIET?
Vietnam's Consumer Goods

THE BENEFITS OF SLIM COFFEE: HOW IT CAN BE PART OF YOUR HEALTHY BALANCED DIET?

by Thao
written by Thao

Weight management has always been a key area of interest for food and drink companies as the demands for convenient and tasty ways that deal with weight gain and obesity are high in this modern life. Have you ever heard of slim coffee or weight loss coffee, which claim to help customers lose weight? This kind of coffee has been emerging as a trend for global customers in recent years. Read this article to find out what impacts slim coffee has on your body.

1. What is slim coffee?

Slim coffee, or weight loss coffee is a type of instant coffee, which is a mixture of familiar ingredients such as green coffee bean extract and many other natural herb extracts. All the ingredients are natural and contain a considerable amount of beneficial nutrients that help control the hunger hormone to suppress appetite, reduce calorie intake, accelerate fat burning, and control weight effectively. It is usually packaged in individual servings, which enable people to quickly prepare hot coffee by adding hot water to the powder and stirring.

Let’s look at the breakdown of some of the primary ingredients present in the slim coffee:

Green Coffee Bean Extract

This is the most important ingredient in the drink. As the name suggests, this extract comes from green coffee beans. It contains an active ingredient called Chlorogenic Acid (CGA) which some studies have found can help control elevated blood sugar and bodyweight. Green coffee is the coffee bean before it has been roasted. It’s also known as raw coffee. The roasting process destroys a lot of the CGA in the bean. That’s why using green coffee bean extract in the formula of slim coffee makes it a safe slimming beauty drink.

green coffee ingredients in slim coffee

Green Tea Extract

Green tea, which is present in a majority of weight loss supplements found in the market, has long been hailed as a great addition to a healthy diet. Green tea contains caffeine and an amino acid called L-theanine, which is another ingredient that contributes to promoting weight loss. The L-theanine in green tea can create a savory taste, also known as umami flavor. A research from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that umami flavors may reduce appetite, which often helps with weight loss.

Garcinia Cambogia

Garcinia cambogia, a tropical fruit also known as the Malabar tamarind, is a popular weight-loss supplement. It is used for flavouring food and its active ingredient is Hydroxycitric Acid, which is meant to block your body’s ability to make fat and curb your appetite. A review published in the Journal of Obesity found that people who took garcinia cambogia in studies lost about 2 pounds more than people who didn’t take it.

Cacao/Cocoa

According to research in the Journal of Proteome Research, cocoa contain some potent compounds, out of which some of them help promote weight loss. Since cocoa is rich in phytonutrients but low in fat and sugar, the calories you get from cocoa powder will be packed with healthy chemicals. Studies have also found that cocoa helps to regulate energy use and metabolism while also increasing feelings of fullness. Hence this powder may actually help to reduce weight while providing important nutrients.

cocoa ingredient in slim coffee

2. Mechanism of the natural lose weight coffee

This slim coffee doesn’t contain any harmful chemicals or artificial sweeteners. It also doesn’t have any added sugar, which is the enemy of a diet plan. It only contains natural ingredients that claim to increasing satiety and suppressing appetite safely. According to the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, caffeine helps fighting the hunger hormones known as peptide YY, which results in suppressing one’s hunger.

Apart from suppressing one’s appetite, slim coffee also claims to reduce the cravings for food, regulates the absorption of food, and promote a healthier lifestyle. As mentioned, green coffee extract, which contain helpful weight loss aid Chlorogenic Acid, is the main ingredient in the slim coffee. Hence in addition to giving your metabolism a kick, the beverage is also capable of slowing down the absorption of carbohydrates and breaking down fat.

Consumers are advised to drink Slim Coffee just as a part of a healthy balanced diet to give their wellness plan a boost in the right direction. Don’t rely entirely on this lose weight coffee. To achieve maximum results and for an overall healthier lifestyle, you should go on with an exercise plan and a healthy diet besides this supplement drink.

Doing exercise besides drinking slim coffee

3. The instant coffee market in Vietnam at a glance.

When talking about coffee, Vietnam is arguably a premier hotspot for coffee buyers who seek for a variety of coffee beans at a cheaper rate. Besides Robusta coffee beans, Vietnam in recent years has been exporting more and more highly processed coffee. And among all processed coffee, Vietnam instant coffee is the best choice for not only domestic customers but also the international buyers. Being the world’s second-largest coffee producer, Vietnam has been expanding the production of instant coffee recent years in order to meet the increasing demand of instant coffee these days. According to Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD – Vietnam), the country currently is home to 20 factories processing pure instant coffee, mixed instant coffee, with a capacity to produce an annual amount of over 75 thousand metric tons. Not only being exported abroad, Vietnam instant coffee is also showing strong growth in domestic consumption due to its convenient use.

As a type of instant coffee, weight loss coffee has emerged as a hot-selling product in this category. A lot of Vietnamese coffee manufacturers started to join this coffee trend and produced many effective product’s lines of slim coffee years ago. Vietnam now offer a wide range of good-quality slim instant coffee products at a cheaper rate. Hence as a international coffee buyer, you should definitely take Vietnam’s Slim Coffee into consideration.

Viego Global – Your trusted sourcing partner in Vietnam

In order to provide a deeper insight on Vietnam’s Coffee Market, we’ve created this series along with tips on how to select the best beans from Vietnam for your business. Jump to:

Are you sourcing coffee from Vietnam? Do you need a source of high quality coffee? If you want to connect with any qualified coffee producers in Vietnam that pay strict attention to their product, please comment below so we could help you out easily. Being presence at the factory location, Viego Global has the capability to professionally source, manufacture and execute order providing maximum benefit to our clients in terms of delivering a wide range of products at the best competitive pricing. Please contact us HERE for further support!

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