Farmers are excitedly entering the jackfruit coffee season.

QTO - These days, on the hillsides of Khe Sanh-Huong Hoa, Liberica coffee beans are beginning to ripen. After many years of quietly existing alongside Arabica coffee, mainly for blending and selling in bulk, Liberica coffee is gradually gaining special attention from the market due to its distinctive aroma reminiscent of ripe jackfruit. Thanks to stable prices, the Liberica coffee brand from Khe Sanh-Huong Hoa is being mentioned more often in specialty coffee competitions, bringing joy to growers and opening up hope for this crop that has long been associated with the basalt soil of western Quang Tri.

Preserving the coffee varieties of memories.

In his coffee plantation spanning over 1.5 hectares in Hamlet 7, Khe Sanh Commune, Mr. Dao Minh and his family are busy harvesting the first clusters of coffee berries of the new season. The tall, broad-canopied, and gnarled coffee trees, which have been part of his family's life for decades, are now bearing abundant fruit.

Mr. Minh said that jackfruit coffee usually ripens later than tea coffee, and the yield is not high, but in return, the trees are strong, less susceptible to pests and diseases, and quite drought-tolerant, suitable for the red basalt soil conditions in Khe Sanh, Huong Phung, A Doi... This coffee variety was originally introduced to Khe Sanh by the French exactly 100 years ago. The trees are tall, the fruits are large, and the aroma is distinctive, so the locals call it jackfruit coffee.

"Previously, jackfruit coffee didn't sell well, so many people cut them down and switched to other crops. But in recent years, jackfruit coffee has been sought after by traders for processing into specialty coffee, and the selling price is much better, so the people are very happy," Mr. Minh shared.

The family of Mr. Dao Minh, village 7, Khe Sanh commune, happily harvests jackfruit coffee - Photo: NTH

According to Mr. Duong Van Hai, Head of Hamlet 7, Khe Sanh Commune, the entire hamlet currently has about 20 hectares of jackfruit coffee, scattered across the hillsides. A significant portion of this area was planted in 1984, during the time of the Khe Sanh Coffee Plantation; approximately 5 hectares of newly planted trees have not yet yielded a harvest.

“After the Khe Sanh Coffee Plantation was dissolved, the people took over the coffee plantations to cultivate, and many of the coffee trees still bear fruit regularly today. These long-standing coffee orchards not only provide supplementary income for the people but also preserve the legacy of a time when the coffee plantation flourished in the Khe Sanh area,” Mr. Hai said.

According to Tran Thai Thien, Chairman of the Khe Sanh Coffee Association, there are currently no specific statistics on the area of ​​jackfruit coffee in the entire Khe Sanh-Huong Hoa region. However, based on the volume purchased by businesses and specialty coffee processing facilities, it is estimated that there are still about 300 hectares of jackfruit coffee in the area. At the beginning of the 2026 crop year, the price of green coffee beans on the domestic market fluctuated around 95,000 - 97,000 VND/kg, a slight decrease compared to the peak of the 2025 crop year when the price exceeded 100,000 VND/kg, but is still considered a fairly positive price for coffee growers.

Regarding jackfruit coffee specifically, due to its low production volume and focus on the specialty coffee segment, its selling price is usually stable at a higher level compared to many common coffee varieties. "Jackfruit coffee doesn't have a large production volume, but it has a very unique flavor. In the last three years or so, as the specialty coffee market has developed, this type of coffee has started to attract the attention of many businesses," Mr. Thien stated.

From a century-old legacy to new expectations.

Few people know that the "jackfruit coffee" was one of the first coffee varieties introduced by the French for experimental cultivation in Khe Sanh in 1926. From these initial plantations, the coffee plants gradually took root in the fertile basalt soil of the former Huong Hoa district, becoming an integral part of the history of Quang Tri 's famous coffee region. For 100 years since coffee was first grown in Khe Sanh, the "jackfruit coffee" has quietly survived on the hillsides. And it's interesting that, precisely at this time, this once forgotten coffee variety, once used as a windbreak, is beginning to be mentioned more frequently on the region's specialty coffee map.

A significant milestone contributing to the increased recognition of jackfruit coffee from the Khe Sanh-Huong Hoa region was the fact that Madam Huong's Liberica coffee product (from Huong Phung commune) won first place at the 2024 Southeast Asia Liberica Coffee Competition. This achievement has brought Quang Tri's jackfruit coffee to the attention of the regional specialty coffee community, opening up opportunities to build a brand for this unique local coffee.

Looking at the old, resilient coffee plantations that continue to bear fruit, many believe that with proper planning and brand development, this special type of coffee could become a unique feature of the Khe Sanh coffee region. After a century of taking root in that basalt soil, the coffee plant not only holds economic value but has also become a part of the memories and pride of the Quang Tri coffee region.

In a land once steeped in wartime memories, the coffee hills today provide a stable livelihood for the people. And for farmers like Mr. Dao Minh, each harvest season is not just a season of coffee beans, but also a season of hope. The joy of coffee growers in Khe Sanh comes not only from a successful harvest but also from positive market signals.

Thanh Hai

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kinh-te/202603/nong-dan-phan-khoi-buoc-vao-vu-ca-phe-mit-f034991/