There are moments when a trip changes something in you. Sometimes it's a landscape, sometimes 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, that's it. A quiet revelation.

Vietnam, the world's second-largest coffee producer (and almost no one 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 out of 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 Vietnamese coffee, the answer is often vague. "Oh yeah, it's that really strong stuff with condensed milk?" Not wrong. But so incomplete.

Robusta vs Arabica: why Vietnam is different

The majority of the world's high-end coffee is arabica. Vietnam produces mainly robusta — a variety long disliked by European roasters because it was associated with low-end 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 provide: body, roundness, a noble bitterness, and twice the caffeine concentration.

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

Cà phê trứng — Hanoï's egg coffee

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

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

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. Suave and slightly salty. The first sip is disconcerting. The second 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 — but why not?

Specialty Vietnamese coffee remains a largely unexploited niche in France. Specialty coffee shops in Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse are actively seeking new origins. A grand cru robusta from the Central Highlands, roasted locally by a small producer, packaged in 250g bags with a nice 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 0%. And connecting with serious producers in the Đắk Lắk region is precisely what CNL Sourcing can organize.

But let's not go too fast. Start by drinking your cà phê trứng. The rest may 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.