One sip of Vietnamese coffee and you’re sure to love the robust flavor that’s quickly becoming famous around the world — but you have to start with premium beans to truly enjoy Vietnamese coffee.
What are the best Vietnamese coffee brands? Since Vietnam is second in the world among exporters of coffee beans — behind only Brazil — the list of Vietnamese coffee brands is growing. You’ll want to know who has the freshest and best tasting.
We can help.
Here’s our list of the 8 best Vietnamese coffee brands to explore in 2024:
1. Cafely
We pride ourselves on crafting exquisite Vietnamese coffee while remaining staunchly committed to sustainability and fair trade. We carry a large selection of whole and pre-ground Vietnamese coffee beans.
Our online shop offers Vietnamese robusta, Vietnamese arabica, robusta/arabica blends, and the intensely caffeinated peaberry robusta (culi coffee).
We also specialize in Vietnamese instant coffees in 3 distinct flavors — Instant Vietnamese Milk Coffee, Instant Vietnamese Coconut Coffee, and Instant Vietnamese Black Coffee (all deliver an energizing dose of 150 mg caffeine).
Top Brew: Our signature product is the Saigon OG — a blend of premium single-origin robusta, peaberry, and arabica beans hand-picked from the lush central highlands of Vietnam. We use a traditional butter-roast method for this coffee, just like our ancestors have been doing for generations.
Other Options: We also carry a 100% Vietnamese robusta (HaNoi), a 100% arabica (DaLat), and a 50/50 blend (DaNang). Our strongest offering is Banme, a 100% peaberry robusta — the strongest coffee in the world.
Other Product Offerings: We offer a variety of ready-to-drink coffee cans, instant coffee packets — including black coffee, milk coffee and coconut coffee — and single-origin beans. Can’t decide which one to try? You can get a coffee trio that offers three types of coffee in one order, or check out our flavored coffees made by skilled artisans.
About the Company: We take pride in providing the authentic taste and vitality of genuine Vietnamese coffee in each product. To achieve that, we are careful in our selection of beans, and testing of each batch following processing.
Cafely also cares about the coffee producers and the environment in which coffee beans are grown.
Cafely Pros:
- Ethical sourcing
- Minimal carbon footprint
- Fighting deforestation
- Empowering coffee-growing communities by establishing fair trade relationships
- Providing support for sustainable farming practices
2. Copper Cow Coffee
Copper Cow Coffee is owned and operated by women and was one of the first Vietnamese coffee companies to bring sustainable farming investments to Vietnam.
Top Brew: Copper Cow’s Classic Black is a unique blend of robusta and arabica coffee. The flavor is best described as having “notes of rich chocolate and nutty undertones with a smooth finish.”
Other Options: Copper Cow is one of the only sources for flavored coffee beans — like its lavender coffee made with real lavender buds. Other options are vanilla coffee, churro coffee with real cinnamon, and salted caramel with just salt.
Why We Like It: Simply put, convenience. Copper Cow does have bagged coffee, but the ease of their pour overs won us over for busy mornings. You can make a pour over in 90 seconds — simply tear open the single serve coffee filter bag, hang it over your cup, and pour hot water over it. Copper Cow also offers a variety of lattes and single-serve creamers.
3. King Coffee
King Coffee is an offspring of Trung Nguyen International, which launched it as its first premium coffee brand in the United States. It’s now found all over the world and sources coffee from Ethiopia, Brazil, Colombia, and Guatemala. Of course, robusta and arabica beans are sourced directly from Vietnam.
Top Brew: The Expert Blend #1 is our top choice as it’s made with the robusta bean and specially created for coffee shops.
Other Options: There are plenty of other varieties, and not all of them are made from Vietnamese coffee beans. The Signature Blend is a medium dark roast made of a mix of arabica and robusta beans from Guatemala, Ethiopia, Brazil, and Vietnam.
Why We Like It: The variety. King Coffee has products for every taste; single serve and bagged coffee; pre-made and bottled iced milk coffee; ground coffee, whole bean coffee, and instant coffee. You can even get the luxury Weasel Coffee — if you’re prepared to pay $849.99 for 225 grams.
4. Nguyen Coffee Supply
Nguyen Coffee Supply prides itself on being the first specialty Vietnamese coffee company based in the United States. Beans are imported through direct-trade relationships with Vietnamese farmers and roasted in Brooklyn, New York.
Top Brew: Nguyen’s Hanoi Dark is a 100% robusta coffee with notes of tobacco and chocolate. It can be brewed using a traditional phin filter, or with espresso, pour over or drip brewing techniques.
Why We Like It: There’s plenty of selection, and a bunch of bundle packs to let you sample different flavors and types of coffee.
5. Trung Nguyen Coffee
Trung Nguyen harvests its own beans from its own plantation in Vietnam's Buon Ma Thuot Province, helping to maintain a consistent quality. This is, by far, one of the oldest and most successful Vietnamese coffee companies still on the market — we’ve been drinking this stuff for years.
Top Brew: G7 is an instant coffee that separates itself from others by the extraction process. You can buy it black, with sugar, or complete with a blend of coffee, non-dairy creamer, and sugar.
Other Options: You can also choose ground coffee, with options like the Premium Blend, Gourmet Blend, and Creative Blend. The top-of-the-line product is Trung Nguyen Legend.
Why We Like It: This is a well established company in operation since 1996 — a true OG in the Vietnamese coffee space.
6. Lang Thang Coffee
Lang Thang sources beans from the Central Highlands of Vietnam and roasts them in Saigon. The company then imports them to Cincinnati, OH. The beans are a blend of robusta, arabica, peaberry, and soybeans.
Top Brew: Saigon Phin Daklak is an even blend of the beans offered by Lang Thang. It’s pre-ground for you.
Other Options: You can also choose whole bean Saigon Espresso.
Why We Like It: This coffee is an offshoot of the Phở Lang Thang cafe which has been open since 2010 in the Findlay Market in Cincinnati. Since the patriarch of the family had already been roasting Vietnamese coffee, that’s what was served in the cafe. Finally, the family decided to sell its own version of Saigon Phin Dakl.
7. ChestBrew
This company was started by a couple with a history in restaurants serving Vietnamese food. After working in the corporate world, they decided to start a coffee company — admitting that they did it in part because everyone loved the coffee they used to bring back from Vietnam.
Top Brew: The ChestBrew POP (Pour Over Pouch) is inexpensive and convenient, allowing you to enjoy a cup of delicious pour over coffee anywhere.
Other Options: Moon Bear is made with premium beans and roasted specifically for cold brew coffee. Grizzly Bear adds a real dark chocolate flavor to coffee.
Why We Like It: ChestBrew is an option if you want 100% premium arabica beans. They claim they never add anything to the roasting process, and they have a USFDA-approved roasting facility in Southeast Asia.
8. Birdee
This coffee claims to be “chosen by the birds.” Birdee says that birds are picky, knowing which coffee berries produce the best coffee beans. Their 100% Vietnamese beans are medium roast and a blend of robusta and arabica.
Top Brew: The original Birdee Vietnamese coffee bean is a medium roast coffee made with 80% robusta beans and 20% arabica beans. It can be used for regular coffee, cold brew or espresso.
Other Options: The Splendid Fairywren is a 50/50 combo of arabica and robusta beans, and the Bold Eagle is 100% robusta Beans. There’s also a pre-ground Bold Brew.
Why We Like It: If the birds like it, why shouldn’t we? We can’t argue that the birds seem to have a knack for finding good coffee beans.
What You Need To Know About Vietnamese Coffee
Vietnamese coffee is made using a special brewing device called a phin filter. This little device optimizes for exceptionally strong, concentrated coffee, which is then combined with sweetened condensed milk. The combination of intensely bold and full-bodied coffee with sweet, creamy condensed milk and ice produces a flavor unlike anything else. Coffee prepared this way is known as Cà phê sữa đá.
There’s also coconut coffee and egg coffee, which involves frothing condensed milk with fresh egg yolks.
Modern brewing methods combine cold brew coffee with Vietnamese condensed milk for an even smoother, more caffeinated drink.
When you’re buying Vietnamese coffee, make sure to double-check the type of beans you’re buying. Coffea robusta is the most common bean grown in Vietnam and is required to develop the strong taste this coffee is known for.
Related: What’s the Difference Between Robusta & Arabica Coffee?
Robusta coffee is the most typical form used to make Vietnamese iced coffees and the beans have a stronger flavor and higher caffeine content. It’s also the bean that’s best to pair with sweet condensed milk, ice, and lower volumes used to make Vietnamese coffee drinks.
Watch for the coffee's origin, too. Some coffees may claim to be Vietnamese coffee but are actually grown in places like Brazil or Uganda. While these coffees are unique in their own way, they're not going to provide the characteristic flavor attributed to Vietnamese-grown coffee.
Here are other considerations before you buy authentic Vietnamese coffee:
- The freshness of the beans — Look for the most recent roast date.
- Roast level — Vietnamese coffee is typically dark-roasted.
- Grind level — Order whole-bean coffee and grind it just before brewing to preserve as much freshness as possible. Otherwise, medium-fine ground coffee is ideal for use in the traditional Vietnamese phin filter.
History of Coffee in Vietnam
Vietnam became a French colony in 1883, and the French colonizers brought their love for cafe culture along with them. They soon discovered that the Vietnamese countryside had fertile volcanic soil that made it ideal for coffee plantations.
After the French rule ended, the Vietnam War began, resulting in the devastation of coffee farms. Then, beginning in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the coffee industry truly prospered in Vietnam.
Vietnam now sits as the second largest coffee producer in the world, behind only Brazil but producing more coffee than Colombia. Vietnam also has a rich coffee culture, slow brewing the robusta beans with a traditional phin filter and often mixed with sweetened condensed milk.
Related: The History of Coffee in Vietnam
FAQs: Vietnamese Coffee Brands
Still want to know more? Here are some more questions and answers surrounding Vietnamese coffee brands.
1. What is the most common type of Vietnamese coffee?
Robusta is the most common type of coffee bean grown in Vietnam. Robusta beans provide a strong, robust flavor, and are bold because they contain more caffeine than the more commonly known arabica bean.
2. How is Vietnamese coffee prepared?
Traditional Vietnamese coffee is made using a special filter known as a phin filter. This small coffee press sits on top of a coffee mug. Coffee is placed in it, and hot water is poured over it. It takes 4-6 minutes to drip brew the coffee, which is traditionally mixed with sweetened condensed milk.
3. What is the best Vietnamese coffee?
Vietnamese coffee is traditionally dark and strong, so a coffee made with a robusta is the best choice. If that’s too strong for you, try a robusta/arabica blend or a dark-roasted arabia.
4. Is Vietnamese coffee stronger than American coffee?
Vietnamese coffee has more caffeine per ounce than conventional American-style coffee but also has a lower volume of coffee per cup. It's stronger because most Vietnamese coffee is made with robusta beans, which contain almost double the amount of caffeine than arabica beans. The beans are usually dark roasted, and long extraction times also make them stronger.
Related: What Makes Vietnamese Coffee So Strong?
5. Which country is the number one coffee maker in the world?
Brazil is the largest exporter of coffee beans in the world, followed by Vietnam and then Colombia.
