Vietnamese Coffee Harvest 2023

November is when most coffee farms in Vietnam start their harvest. I visited the farm in Dalat where my Arabica is grown and my friends farm in Pleiku where the Robusta is grown. Instead of getting a bus between these two cities I thought I would rent a motorcycle. They do a one way rental service so I could leave the bike in Hoi An and fly back from Danang.

Above is a video of me leaving Ho Chi Min City with my girlfriend seeing me off. I will put a video together of the whole journey in due course. After enduring a huge storm on the way I arrived about 10 hours later! Never has a hot shower felt so good. I was soaked to the bone, the heat of Ho Chi Min City was a distant memory up high in the coolness of the mountains.

The following day I visited the coffee farm of Ngoc where the Arabica is grown. His grandparents bought the farm from a French family in the 1930's. It was the French that introduced coffee to Vietnam. Ngoc's English is better than my Vietnamese, however communication is still hit and miss. I stopped at his coffee shop where his mother was removing any defective beans from the previous years harvest. If you have any of my Arabica now they could be beans from the table below. So Ngoc was nowhere to be seen, with the aid of google translate his sister informed me that he was waiting for me at the coffee farm. So with the aid of goggle maps I set off on the short journey. When I arrived he was in his farmstay with classical music playing aloud waiting for me on his terrace. I had only met him once but it was nice to see him again. Like me, he has an eclectic taste of music To the sound of Bob Marley he made me a coffee using a V60, it was delicious. Then after, he offered me an avocado which was also grown on the farm. This was followed by persimmon. My taste buds as well as my ears were having a great time. I was also hearing his entire playlist. See/hear more on facebook.

We then talked about farming and how he likes to grow the coffee trees as natural as possible. Not only does this mean not using chemical fertilisers or insecticide, but trying to replicate the coffee trees natural habitat. This was very interesting, he explained to me that when they were found in the forests of Ethiopia they would have been surrounded by other trees and plants. This would give some shade from the sun and add nutrients to the soil. Most farms have rows and rows of coffee trees. Ngoc added avocado and persimmon trees amongst others.

Unfortunately it was a week or so before he would start the harvest.. As you can see below; some of the cherries are not yet ripe. as the name suggests, they are ready to pick when they are red like a cherry. Nevertheless, he still took me for a wander through the trees to go and forage some fruits. We picked avocados and forest tomatoes and he even found a random passion fruit growing. That was super tasty, fresh from the vine! See more here.

After another night in Dalat I set off for Buon Ma Thuot. This was about a 5 hour drive north. This city is regarded as the capital of Vietnamese coffee growing region. However, given the lower elevation than the mountainous Dalat it mainly grows Robusta. The journey involved some beautiful scenery, but it wasn't without its shortcomings. The road surface in places was like craters on the moon. It made the pot holes I have to endure here in the UK a refreshing sight! Arriving in BMT with my skeleton rattled and shaken but just about intact I found a hotel for the night.

In the evening I went for dinner at a traditional restaurant run by Ede people. These are an ethnic community of about 200,000 people in Vietnam. As well as great food they put on a great show with music and other performances. There was also some great, and somewhat strong, local wine made from various fruits.

The owner of Trung Ngyuen coffee recently opened the worlds first coffee museum. It had a contemporary design and had coffee trees growing outside.

It showcased the history of coffee cultivation and production. You can see more of inside here.

The ticket included a free coffee using a Chinese method for brewing. Here You can see how it is done.

After visiting the museum I mounted my bags on my bike and set off for Pleiku. This was a pleasant ride on a lot of new road, pot holes were in short supply (thankfully).

After a night in Pleiku I went to my friends coffee farm. I have made my first youtube video of my time there. I'll let you decide whether I have a future as a YouTuber or a humble farmer!

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I still had a way to go to get to Hoi An, continuing my journey along the Ho Chi Min road. The scenery got more and more breathtaking. I spent the night in a small town where the locals took a liking to this foreign giant.

On the way I passed a runway that the Americans built in the war. It is crumbling away now but the locals use it to dry out fruit, vegetables and wood. Once I arrived in charming Hoi An I went to Danang. The following morning the beach was calling!