There are moments when a trip changes something in you. Sometimes it's a landscape, sometimes it's a meeting. And sometimes, it's a cup of coffee drunk on a small plastic stool, in the heat of Hanoï, at 7am, in front of a bowl of phở.

Vietnamese coffee is that. A quiet revelation.

Vietnam, the world's second-largest coffee producer (and almost nobody knows it)

Behind Brazil, Vietnam produces more coffee than Colombia, Ethiopia, or Indonesia combined. Each year, between 1.5 and 1.8 million tonnes come from the country's highlands — mainly from the regions of Đắk Lắk and Lâm Đồng, in the Central Highlands.

Yet when you ask a European coffee enthusiast if they know about Vietnamese coffee, the answer is often vague. "Oh yes, it's that really strong thing with condensed milk?" Not wrong. But so incomplete.

Robusta vs Arabica: why Vietnam is different

The majority of high-end coffee worldwide is arabica. Vietnam produces mainly robusta — a variety long disliked by European roasters because it's associated with low-grade industrial coffee.

But things are changing. Baristas and roasters of the new generation are rediscovering robusta. Well-cultivated, well-dried, well-roasted, it offers a flavor profile that arabica cannot give: body, roundness, a noble bitterness, and caffeine content twice as high.

High-end Vietnamese coffee remains largely unknown in France. There's something to be done here.

The cà phê trứng — the egg coffee of Hanoï

If you go to Hanoï, you must visit Cà Phê Giảng, in the old town. It's an institution founded in 1946, nestled in a dark alley in the Hoàn Kiếm district.

You'll be served a cà phê trứng — egg coffee. A cup of strong robusta coffee, topped with a thick and silky foam made from beaten egg yolk with sweetened condensed milk. The foam is hot, the coffee below is cold. You mix, you drink, and you wonder why this thing doesn't exist yet in your neighborhood.

Other classics to try:

Cà phê sữa đá: iced coffee with condensed milk. Simple, addictive, perfect for the heat.
Cà phê dừa: coconut coffee, a specialty of Hội An. Creamy, tropical, unexpected.
Cà phê muối: salt coffee, from Huế. Smooth and lightly salted. The first sip is disconcerting. The second one convinces you.

What if you brought back something other than souvenirs?

That's often how it starts. A stay in Vietnam, kilos of coffee in your suitcase on the way back, friends asking "where did you find that?" and a moment where you think — why not?

Specialty Vietnamese coffee remains an under-exploited niche in France. Specialty coffee shops in Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse are actively looking for new origins. A grand cru robusta from the Central Highlands, roasted locally by a small producer, packaged in 250g bags with a good story behind it — that's exactly what this clientele is looking for.

Importing coffee from Vietnam is facilitated by the EVFTA: customs duties on green coffee are at 0%. And making connections with serious producers in the Đắk Lắk region is precisely what CNL Sourcing can organize.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Start by drinking your cà phê trứng. The rest will perhaps follow.

Next time you pass through Hanoï, the address: Cà Phê Giảng, 39 Nguyễn Hữu Huân, Hoàn Kiếm district. Opens at 7am. Take the small stool at the back.