Vietnamese Coffee Explained
By Kelli Luu | 14 Nov, 2025

Discover how a post Vietnam War staple became a rising star in the American coffee scene.

For decades, coffee has been a big part of Vietnam’s everyday lifestyle and in recent years, this caffeinated treat has traveled across the sea to become a new American obsession. 

The first documentation of coffee in Vietnam was in 1857 when French missionaries brought over an Arabica tree with plans to begin a small business. It wasn’t until the early 20th century when production began to increase and allow this simple bean to completely transform coffee culture. By the 1920s, French colonists were opening production plantations in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, exporting 1,500 tons of coffee every year. This number increased to 2,000 tons by 1940.

Unfortunately, the Vietnam War forced coffee production in the country to come to a complete halt resulting in an economic downturn. Years after the war ended, the government finally decided to invest in certain crops, coffee being one of them. From there, Vietnamese coffee production increased over the years, and later would transform the economy, this time in a positive way. 

Robusta coffee took over as the dominant bean as it was much easier to grow in Vietnam than Arabica. When farmers began to rebuild their lives after the war, robusta was the most practical and profitable option. 

By the 1990s, Vietnam was the world’s second largest coffee exporter and is now responsible for the production of 40% of the world’s robusta beans. Robusta’s high caffeine content and bold flavor put Vietnam on the map with iconic drinks like cà phê sữa đá. When citizens were dealing with wartime shortages, fresh milk was difficult to find, so sweetened condensed milk was introduced as a replacement, which ended up perfectly complementing the robusta bean. 

As immigrants began to arrive in the United States, their coffee traditions came with them and Vietnamese cafes began to open up, introducing locals to something new. In the 2010s Vietnamese American entrepreneurs began to make a push for Vietnamese coffee to break into mainstream cafes and grocery stores and suddenly, flavors like coconut and salted cream were everywhere. 

Vietnamese coffee is one of America’s fastest growing trends and it continues to bridge cultures and create community. From the streets of Ho Chi Minh City to Los Angeles cafes, the striking flavor of Vietnamese coffee preserves a piece of heritage that will be shared and passed down forever.