Get ready for a coffee journey like no other! ☕ Did you know that Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee exporter? While South America may steal the spotlight with its Arabica beans, Vietnam's coffee culture is a hidden gem waiting to be discovered.
In this immersive documentary, we'll whisk you away to the bustling streets of Ho Chi Minh City, where you'll explore Trung Nguyen Legend's distinctive cafes and experience the rich aroma of Vietnamese coffee. Journey with us to the lush coffee farms of the Central Highlands, where robusta coffee beans thrive, and discover the intricate art of coffee roasting in their state-of-the-art facilities.
But it's not just about coffee; it's about the people behind the brand. Meet the passionate individuals who are shaping Trung Nguyen Legend's legacy and learn about their unique philosophy. For them, coffee is more than just a beverage – it's a way of life, a culture, and a connection to their roots.
Prepare to be captivated by the sights, sounds, and stories of Vietnam's coffee culture. "The Tao of Coffee" is your invitation to savor every moment, to understand the soul of Vietnamese coffee, and to embrace the message that coffee is not merely a drink; it's a journey, a tradition, and an experience of a lifetime.
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Cre: @Discovery Channel Southeast Asia
For over five centuries, it's been called the elixir of life.
These burnished brown beans have risen from nature's gift to a worldwide commodity.
Over two billion cups of this caffeine-rich beverage are drunk every single day.
Coffee is drunk on every continent in the world. There is even a coffee machine
and the International Space Station.
Back down on Earth, Vietnam is staking its claim on the global coffee industry.
One unique company is leading the Vietnamese caffeine revolution,
turning coffee from a simple beverage into a way of life.
In Vietnam, consuming coffee is a nationwide obsession.
The strength of coffee culture here is reflected in its unique preparation.
Vietnam actually has its own method of brewing coffee that is quite distinctive.
It's brewed with a fin filter that would sit over the coffee cup, producing a very concentrated
shot of coffee for a very, very slow brewing process. And mixing it with condiments like
condensed milk and usually brewed over ice. Today, the Vietnamese aren't just avid consumers
of coffee, but also top producers. With government support, the country has risen
to earn the title of second largest exporter of coffee in the world, after Brazil.
1990, we had about 1.3 million bags of coffee produced in Vietnam. By 2016,
we have 28 million bags being produced. That's an enormous increase, unprecedented really.
One company has been at the forefront of the Vietnamese coffee explosion,
coffee producer Trung Nguyen Legend.
From its head office in Ho Chi Minh City,
the company is getting ready to launch a brand new line of their standout product,
G7 Coffee.
G7 is a soluble instant coffee mix, that has been a runaway success for the Vietnamese coffee
brand. Now sold in 100 countries, it has been ranked as one of the top five coffee brands in
China. In honor of the product's 20th anniversary, the company is launching a special line
called G7 Gold. But first, it'll need to pass a final tasting session
with some of the company's most senior personnel.
Before the tasting can begin, they'll need to get in the right frame of mind.
Trung Nguyen Legend was founded in 1996 by Dang Le Nguyen Vu, or Chairman Vu,
with aspirations to put Vietnamese coffee on the world map.
His focus lies not just in material exports, but in spreading a coffee philosophy,
which comes with its own meditation technique.
The tasters will have six key factors to consider during this session. Color, scent,
sweetness, spiciness, bitterness, and the all-important aftertaste.
The new line features drinks that are based on the company's study of the history of coffee
culture, and the three periods of time which they consider to have defined man's relationship
to coffee, termed the Three Coffee Civilizations.
The company promotes the idea that society has evolved in tandem with coffee drinking,
a concept which can be seen in their Coffee World spaces in Vietnam.
Here, licensed graders spear each bag for fresh samples and taste test the shipment
to make certain the coffee they've bought compares with the reports and samples from South America.
Until the late 19th century, the only coffee that is grown commercially and is drunk widely
is Arabica coffee. Arabica is quite subtle, it's got delicate flavors in it,
tends to be kind of floral or fruity.
It was only later, in the 1950s, that a cheaper, heartier alternative took off, called Robusta.
The Robusta bean has twice the caffeine level of an Arabica bean.
It's about kind of quite bold flavors.
It tends to give you what a roaster once described to me as the guts in a coffee blend.
To grow Robusta successfully, you need warm temperatures,
frequent rainfall, and fertile, well-drained soil.
And located 300 kilometers northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, lies just the place.
These are Vietnam's central highlands.
Mountains and lush plains that border Laos and Cambodia.
Home to nearly 6 million people, comprising of 54 different ethnic groups.
Vietnam accounts for more than half of the global supply of Robusta.
Set in its central highlands, the province of Dak Lak produces over 30% of those beans.
Local resident Nguyen Van Hiep has farmed Robusta for the past three decades.
Work at the farm is constant.
Besides planting new seedlings, he'll have to maintain his current crop
to ensure it is ready for harvest.
In this 5,000 square meter farm, almost two tons of coffee beans can be harvested each season.
That's enough to brew at least 300,000 cups of coffee.
Sitting at 500 meters above sea level and rich in fertile volcanic soil,
this region boasts the perfect conditions for producing premium Robusta.
It was here, in 1996, in these scenic central highlands,
that Trung Nguyen Legend was first founded by Chairman Vu and a group of friends.
They started small, opening their first store in the city of Buon Ma Thuot.
From the start, Chairman Vu had big dreams.
His goal? To uplift the local coffee industry and the profile of Vietnamese coffee
by creating a globally successful brand.
The company's approach to making Vietnamese coffee a lifestyle
is deeply embedded with what Trung Nguyen Legend calls
the Tao of Coffee, the Way of Coffee.
A deeper, philosophical approach, promoting coffee as a source of caffeinated awareness
and a way to develop both the self and wider society.
The Tao of Coffee.
At the center of their philosophy are the Robusta beans,
grown in the heart of the central highlands.
With Trung Nguyen Legend buying about 5,000 tons of premium beans
from farmers like Hiep every year.
Some cherries have been harvested and are now ready to be processed.
Once the ripe cherries have dried in the sun for at least 10 days,
Hiep can run the fruit through a hulling machine,
removing the pulp and skins and revealing the prized coffee beans.
These beans will now go to a Trung Nguyen Legend roasting facility in the area.
Vietnamese coffee is a source of art.
Therefore, we try to research and respect the number one Robusta coffee bean in the world.
Once the Robusta beans are upgraded,
all Vietnamese coffee producers and all Vietnamese coffee consumers
