Buon Ma Thuot - The place that produces the world's finest Robusta beans.

The fact that Buon Ma Thuot, the "coffee capital," made it into the top 15 best culinary destinations in the world is important proof that Dak Lak's Robusta coffee beans have been positioned on the global consumer map.

The journey to "determine the value" of the finest Robusta beans.

Dak Lak is not only the "capital" of Vietnamese coffee but also a land of coffee beans with a unique flavor found nowhere else. This value has been affirmed through more than 100 years of historical development, from the coffee plantations of the French colonial era to the Buon Ma Thuot coffee brand of today.

To make the best Robusta coffee, the processing is meticulous and precise at every stage.

However, despite its distinctive flavor, Vietnamese Robusta coffee was previously known worldwide primarily as an ingredient for the instant coffee industry. This relegated Buon Ma Thuot coffee to a lower segment of the global value chain for a long period.

That challenge forced coffee producers in Dak Lak to change their production mindset towards sustainability. Mr. Le Duc Huy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Simexco Daklak, shared: "In 2015, when I went to Italy and enjoyed delicious coffee there, I realized that on the world coffee map, there was no Vietnamese flag, nor was Robusta coffee recognized, even though Vietnam is a major coffee exporting country. That reality became the driving force that motivated us to educate ourselves and hire leading experts from around the world to work with farmers to implement the high-quality Robusta and Fine Robusta programs."

On the other hand, in collaboration with the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association, we have organized numerous competitions related to the specialty coffee segment at the national level, contributing to improving the skills of coffee makers and defining the unique flavor profiles of Buon Ma Thuot Robusta coffee. Significantly, Fine Robusta coffee has been adopted by leading global roasting corporations. Fine Robusta has moved beyond obscurity to recognition and acceptance.

Filtered coffee is a unique culinary tradition in Buon Ma Thuot.

According to Mr. Trinh Duc Minh, Chairman of the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association, the biggest difference of Fine Robusta coffee is its rich and balanced flavor. Instead of the characteristic bitterness of traditional Robusta beans, Fine Robusta coffee offers subtle notes such as rich chocolate, sweet nutty caramel, and even tropical fruit aromas...

Notably, in 2023, Vietnamese Fine Robusta coffee originating from Dak Lak was used in the World Barista Championships, a feat unprecedented for Robusta. This demonstrates that, at this point, we have sufficient grounds to assert that Robusta coffee, originating from the Buon Ma Thuot Geographical Indication region, is among the best in the world. And in 2024, Vietnamese Robusta coffee also achieved the highest score in the world for specialty coffee with 87.92 points.

That's also why renowned food author Helen Le, in an interview with National Geographic magazine, affirmed that the quality of Robusta beans here is among the best in the world.

The world's coffee destination.

“Buon Ma Thuot – The World's Coffee Destination” is a strategic vision based on the convergence of landscape, history, and the rich cultural identity of the Central Highlands region. The name Buon Ma Thuot is not just an administrative place name but has become a protected geographical indication for coffee in 32 countries and territories, affirming the core and leading role of coffee beans in the urban development.

Foreign tourists learn about the process of making high-quality coffee at Aeroco Coffee Farm.

From the perspective of an international expert, Dr. Manuel Diaz, a global coffee sensory expert who directly participates in coffee training courses in Dak Lak, observes: The global coffee industry is clearly shifting towards beans that showcase subtlety and complexity, rather than focusing solely on intensity. Buon Ma Thuot has a huge advantage in possessing a community of highly knowledgeable professionals. When each citizen and each coffee shop owner here deeply understands their local coffee beans and knows how to scientifically convey this understanding, Buon Ma Thuot will naturally become an irreplaceable destination on the world cultural map.

To realize this vision, the city of Buon Ma Thuot is focusing on developing specialty coffee, high-quality, distinctive coffee to attract tourists and international investors. Among the locations named by National Geographic in Buon Ma Thuot, Aeroco Specialty Coffee Farm stands out as an unmissable experience: where visitors can get hands-on with every step of the coffee journey – right in the midst of a lush green lakeside farm.

But Aeroco is more than just a "check-in point." It's a 9-hectare agroforestry farm where coffee plants are grown under natural canopy cover, in harmony with the rhythm of the land and seasons of the Central Highlands.

This model not only protects the ecosystem but also produces coffee beans with superior flavor depth. Aeroco has been recognized by the most stringent international organizations: ISO 22000, HACCP, Rainforest Alliance, FDA certifications, and, more importantly, Aeroco has been a top contender in the Vietnam Amazing Cup seven times – the most prestigious award in Vietnam's specialty coffee industry. Products from Aeroco farms are currently available in Japan, South Korea, the United States, Europe, and China. This is vivid proof that Robusta beans, with their completely new approach, are fully qualified to stand in the most luxurious segment of the world market.

The Vietnam Specialty Coffee Competition has contributed to establishing the quality of Robusta coffee beans in the global supply chain.

Mr. Le Dinh Tu, owner of Aeroco Coffee Farm, said: "When visiting Aeroco, tourists don't sit in a cafe overlooking the garden; instead, they step into the garden to learn about the cultivation and post-harvest processing, and finally, enjoy a cup of coffee brewed from beans grown in this very region. That's an experience no other city can offer – one of the reasons National Geographic specifically mentioned Buon Ma Thuot when ranking it alongside Rome (Italy) or Singapore."

“Besides daily operations, a thorough and systematic redesign of the entire space is being actively implemented. The goal is to build this place into a professional coffee culture experience destination. Here, visitors and coffee lovers can directly feel and clearly visualize the arduous yet fascinating journey to create a delicious, full-flavored cup of coffee,” Mr. Le Dinh Tu further shared.

Currently, Dak Lak province is preparing a dossier on the intangible cultural heritage "Knowledge of coffee cultivation and processing in Dak Lak province" to submit to UNESCO for inscription. At the same time, the locality is urgently finalizing the Sustainable Coffee Development Project until 2030, with a vision to 2045, closely integrating infrastructure development, attracting international investment, and building unique coffee cultural spaces – where Buon Ma Thuot is not only the production capital, but also the "World Coffee Destination".

Minh Thuan

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/kinh-te/202606/buon-ma-thuot-noi-dinh-vi-hat-robusta-ngon-nhat-the-gioi-1146d66/