Beyond the Milk: A Journey into the Heart of Vietnamese Coffee Culture
Introduction: A Toast to Vietnam
Hello, coffee lover. This is Coffee Truth. I am your host, Pak Kopi. I was recently invited to dine in Vietnam to give a Toastmasters presentation about coffee. I was there for a week, and it was a great trip filled with wonderful insights. First off, let me give you a little background about Vietnam and its coffee culture.
Whenever you talk to someone about coffee, you often hear: “Oh, you have to go to Vietnam to try Vietnamese coffee. It’s delicious, it’s really good. They have a big coffee culture there, true; they have a very big coffee culture.” However, there is not much awareness surrounding the nuances of this culture.
The Robusta Dominance and Cultural Context
First of all, Vietnam is the world’s largest supplier of Robusta coffee, supplying 70% of the world’s supply. That is a huge number. You may have heard me talk about Robusta versus Arabica before. I do not recommend drinking Robusta because it has twice the caffeine of Arabica, and I believe this overloads the human nervous system.
However, many countries, especially in Southeast Asia and Indonesia, as well as Vietnam, have locals who drink Robusta. Why? Because it is cheap and economical. To make the beverage palatable, they tend to either flavor it or roast it with sugar. In Vietnam’s specific case, they use sweetened condensed milk in every coffee they serve. This is their national default. You can have your coffee black with milk, but in Vietnam, it all comes with sweetened condensed milk.
There is a theory that this staple is a leftover from the Vietnam War that the Americans brought over, though I am not quite sure. Regardless, that is their coffee culture. The sweetened condensed milk overpowers the bitter flavor of their Robusta, which is often of inferior quality compared to Arabica. Consequently, it ends up tasting good to the local palate, but health-wise, it is not nearly as beneficial.
The Health and Cognitive Impact
I can tell the effect of how it felt in my body. The caffeine awakened me, but it failed to really stimulate my mind like Arabica coffee does. When I drink Arabica, I feel happy, inspired, and focused. When I drink Robusta, I do not feel that way.
The people there just drink Robusta. They don’t know the difference between a new boost in Arabica and the effects of Robusta. It is very difficult to get 100% Arabica in those regions. I did go to places where I was able to get 100% Arabica and ordered a special shot. To my shock, they served it with sweetened condensed milk at the bottom. A purist could not believe that.
I do not recommend drinking that sweetened condensed milk, especially for a long period of time. This stuff seems pretty toxic to me. The population is young and unconcerned about these ingredients; they simply accept that Vietnamese coffee tastes good and crave it because it boosts their caffeine content. Every day, they have to give their bodies more of that caffeine, creating a strong coffee culture that is different from what is available to me when I roast my own Arabica at home. It is a strong culture, but there is little understanding about the different coffees and their effects on the human brain and body.
The Mission: Educating the Palate
I really think I need to go there and open up a fresh-roasted coffee shop to teach people about 100% Arabica and fresh roasting. In fact, I did exactly that the very next day after giving my presentation.
I wanted to do a demonstration comparing fresh-roasted versus old-roasted coffee. We went to a hip, super-great new coffee shop called Factory 43 in Nam. They had all the equipment, including a La Marzocco Group machine, and a bunch of different grinders.
The Taste Test: Fresh vs. Stale
My goal was to conduct a side-by-side taste test between my fresh coffee and their older, stale coffee. They had 12 participants. The setup involved:
- One cup containing an Ethiopian Sidamo roasted seven days earlier.
- My cup containing green Ethiopian Sidamo beans that I roasted fresh on the spot using a Power Roaster.
We used the two-group machine and different grinders to pull the shots at the same time, then put them in cups so everyone had a chance to try both.
The Verdict: Freshness Wins
Everyone could tell the difference between the fresh-roasted coffee and the coffee roasted a week prior. It was fruit to me, once again: fresh-roasted always wins.
It is not just about taste; fresh-roasted coffee is always going to be better for your health. The substances created during the roasting process are potent when the beans are fresh. They have not sat on a store shelf deteriorating or being eliminated. It is the difference between taking a ripe piece of fruit right from the tree and something that has been picked a while ago, shipped, and stored on a grocery shelf for a couple of days.
It just makes sense; it’s logical.
Conclusion
That’s it for this edition. We’ll see you again next time.
