Elephant Coffee at the foot of Prenn Pass

Elephant coffee - a unique, rich flavor right at the foot of Prenn Pass, Da Lat City, makes even the most demanding diners "fall in love" every time they enjoy it.

Mr. Phan Dac Mau Dai said that in the process of making elephant coffee, the maker must be selective right from the coffee selection stage. Because only fresh, truly quality coffee beans will be liked by elephants and produce the best product.

The person who brought this special drink to Lam Dong is veterinarian Phan Dac Mau Dai (46 years old, Hiep An commune, Duc Trong district). He owns a herd of 7 elephants, one of the largest herds of domesticated elephants in the country. And, the journey to find and know about elephant coffee also began from here.

“Since 2010, we have started selling elephant coffee. However, to form the elephant coffee model and make it known to many local and international tourists who come here to enjoy it, I myself had to learn and master the processing methods, techniques, and procedures to make a delicious, authentic elephant coffee in Thailand, the origin of this unique coffee,” said Mr. Dai.

To make the special elephant coffee, the finished coffee beans must go through many meticulous steps. From washing, drying, peeling, polishing, roasting... to a strict processing procedure with the brewer's own recipe and secret.

According to Mr. Dai, elephant coffee is not difficult to make, but it requires many steps and the processor must be knowledgeable about coffee, the characteristics of elephants as well as the techniques in the production process.

“When elephants eat coffee, they will only digest the outer shell, while the beans will remain intact. During the process of coffee beans being in the elephant's stomach for about 12 hours, the effects of enzymes in the digestive tract will change the activities, activating the increased caffeine content; thereby, creating a distinct, rich coffee aroma. But first of all, right from the stage of selecting coffee for elephants to eat, those coffee beans must be truly quality beans, the sugar content in the fruit determines the entire quality of the coffee. The coffee beans must be ripe, standard, sweet, and have thick flesh. We grow and feed elephants two main types of coffee. Those are Arabica and Robusta,” Mr. Dai informed.

Foreign tourists are especially excited to experience elephant coffee.

Alina, a tourist from Russia, was excited to taste the unique flavor of elephant coffee for the first time in Lam Dong. She said: I am a coffee lover and love the wonderful relaxing feeling that coffee brings. The elephant coffee here has a very strong, bold flavor that makes Alina very excited to drink. "This is the best coffee I have ever had. Next time I have the opportunity to return to Vietnam, I will definitely bring my family and friends to enjoy this unique flavor," said Alina.

The rich, slightly "pungent" flavor of elephant coffee attracts local tourists to enjoy.

To be successful with the elephant coffee model, Mr. Dai also shared that he has also researched, learned and surveyed Vietnamese people's taste for coffee. Accordingly, Vietnamese people often prefer two flavors. First, it is light, fatty, not bitter, low caffeine content. Second, those who are passionate and have a special love for coffee will prefer cups of coffee with high caffeine content and a more bitter taste. Therefore, in the near future, to improve the quality of elephant coffee as well as meet the tastes of consumers, Mr. Dai plans to continue to create many new recipes as well as expand the business scale to be able to develop the elephant coffee model more and more and become known to many people.