A trip to one of Vietnam’s Great Coffee Farms
Have you asked yourself what your cup of coffee had been made from? Have you ever wondered about the true taste of coffee? Even if you are highland guys, do you spend just a little time considering how deep is your understanding of these special seeds?
I had a chance to visit uncle Son’s farm, known as SonPacamara Coffee Farm in Da Lat, Viet Nam. Although my trip just lasted for two days, I do think it is really valuable to me with a lot of knowledge and practical experience absorbed.
At about 7 pm, I arrived at Dalat by coach, then I had to take the grab from parking place to the provincial civic center. After that, Mr. Son picked me up and headed to his private house, where I met some passionate guys who had a strong passion for coffee like me. After having dinner with his family, we had some heart-to-heart talks together. Then, a volunteer took me to the farm where I would stay through the workshop. Dalat by night was indeed cold, but the beauty of this small city was totally dominated it. I could feel the fierce wind blowing heavily, but it seems like Dalat people lived in harmony with it. On the farm, we broiled the sweet potatoes and then enjoyed sound sleeps after a long journey.
Broiled sweet potatoes and exchanged some talks
In the first day, I waked up early in the morning as usual as to taste the fog as well as the fresh air which proves to be unique here. Moreover, the cables decorated with wine bottles were used in a creative way to deliver coffee bags. At 6:30 a.m, we enjoyed some coffee before having breakfast with noodles. At 7:30 a.m, Mr. Son, some volunteers, and all the participants came to the farm and prepared carefully for each process. Firstly, they have introduced the entire schedule of morning activities, including some basic knowledge of coffee trees. Then at 8 p.m, Mr. Dung – a volunteer here showed us about 4 coffee varieties: Pacamara, Typica, Bourbon, and Mundo Novo. He talked about some typical characteristics of each type in terms of the brands, leaves, seeds, and aromas. After the introduction of certain varieties, we could ask him and Mr. Son more to achieve a deeper understanding of each variety. Next, at about 9:30 a.m, Mr. Oanh – also a volunteer here mentioned the process of grinding and brewing. It is also an important step for aromatic compounds to release and open the coffee to oxidation. There are four coffee processing methods: Natural, Honey, Semi-washed, and Fully-washed. Then at 11 a.m, we took a short rest and had lunch.
The cables
Early morning in Da Lat
Fully-washed processing method
At 13:30 p.m, we continued to learn about the coffee dripping process, which I considered to be really complicated. This step requires you to divide coffee to the exact ratio, measure exactly the amount of boiling water and coffee powder as well as how to pour cleverly. Firstly, we gathered together in the bar room, then Mr. Dat – a coffee shop owner showed us a few personal tips to make a perfect coffee cup as well as some marketing strategies. Next, we were separated into four groups and took part in a small competition about dripping. Actually, there were a handful of baristas so that their performances were extremely interesting. After each individual completed making one cup, the remaining teams had the opportunities to taste that coffee and voted for the more deserving one. Ultimately, the winning team was rewarded with specialty coffee bags. During the night, we had dinner with chicken buffet composing of toasted and boiled chickens. Then, some songs accompanied by guitar were performed, and it also put an end to the first day.
Mr. Dat is sharing his personal experience about dripping
In the second day, it turned out to be less freezing than the first one, everybody gathered again in the bar room to hear Mr. Son’s talk about the detailed information of each variety, then he showed us some ways to recognize the common features of each bean. Next, we had time to learn about coffee defects such as malformed beans, over-fermented beans, insect-damaged beans, … After that, we sat in a group and looked carefully to find the damaged beans. After a while, Mr. Son shared with us steps of roasting coffee, and then we practiced to roast the bourbon beans with the help of some volunteers. In my perspective, if you are a newbie, you will find it a bit annoying because of the heat, odor and limited space. This process accounted for around 2 hours. Then we had lunch and relaxed.
4 types of powders of specialty coffee
At 13:30 p.m, we continued to appreciate the roasted coffee towards six points: Aroma, Acidity, Body, Flavor, Aftertaste, and Balance, and then we calculated the total points to decide which team would win. Everyone tried to concentrate on this cupping process to give accurate results.
Cupping method
Finally, at 5 p.m, the workshop officially ended.
Then at 6 p.m, I took the grab again back to parking station and headed out to Buon Ma Thuot city. Interestingly, I run into a nice grabber, and thus he told me a lot about fabulous violet, the climate which is considered to be exclusive here. Then he drove me to a famous Banh Canh eatery. Ultimately, I got on the coach at 7 p.m.
Da Lat in the afternoon!
Last, thank you, everyone, for your warmness and willing-to-share ideas. Hope to see you guys again!
Special thanks to Mr. Son for helping me a lot in this workshop. In my opinion, he is such a passionate, knowledgeable and kind man. If you want to immerse yourself in a coffee environment, contact him!
All photos provided by Dang Tuan Anh
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