Robusta Coffee - The Power of Vietnamese Coffee Beans

Robusta originated in West Africa, from the Belgian Congo, and was then brought to Java - Indonesia by the Dutch and grown and developed in 1876 to replace Arabica Typica, which was prone to leaf fall and low productivity. In Vietnam, Robusta is the main coffee plant.

Robusta Coffee: Origin and Characteristics

Robusta comes from robust – meaning strong. Robusta coffee means a type of coffee with a strong taste, rich in caffeine. Robusta coffee has the scientific name Coffea robusta or also known as Vối coffee, has a caffeine content of 2 - 4%, has a stronger taste, rounder and smaller beans than Arabica coffee beans.

In fact, Robusta is a new type of coffee that was recently discovered and quickly became popular in many countries around the world because this coffee tree is easy to care for, easy to grow, and has high resistance to pests and diseases. In Vietnam, Robusta coffee is called Robusta coffee in Vietnamese.

Characteristics of Robusta coffee plants

Robusta coffee trees are trees or shrubs, and mature trees can grow up to 10m tall. Coffee berries are round and the beans are smaller than Arabica beans. The caffeine content in Robusta coffee beans is about 2-4%, while in Arabica coffee it is only about 1-2%. Like Arabica coffee, Robusta coffee trees can start harvesting at 3-4 years old. The tree produces seeds for about 20 to 30 years.

Robusta coffee prefers to live in tropical regions, the suitable altitude for growing the tree is below 1000 m. The tree's preferred temperature is about 24-29°C, rainfall is about over 1000 mm. Robusta coffee trees need more sunlight than Arabica coffee trees. Robusta coffee has a less sour taste than Arabica (lower acidity), but is more bitter and astringent than Arabica.

Robusta is a hardy and disease-resistant plant, and therefore yields much higher than Arabica. Although Robusta coffee contains higher levels of caffeine and has a less pure flavor than Arabica coffee, it is considered inferior. A bag of Robusta coffee is usually half the price of Arabica coffee.

Characteristics of the smell and taste of Robusta coffee

Robusta coffee has a slightly pungent smell. The taste of Robusta coffee ranges from neutral to very pungent. Its taste is often described as oatmeal-like. Unroasted Robusta coffee smells like fresh peanuts. Pure roasted Robusta coffee has a light aroma. When sniffed closely, it smells like burnt rubber.

Robusta Coffee Classification

Robusta coffee is classified by sieve, the most common being sieve 16 and sieve 18. Sieve 16 has a coffee bean diameter (or sieve hole size) of 6.30mm and sieve 18 is 7.10mm. In addition to size, other criteria taken into account are classification by humidity, impurities, broken black bean ratio and bean ratio on the sieve.

Robusta coffee in Vietnam is generally of consistent quality and shares many similarities due to the same farming practices. Or Vietnam also exports a relatively large amount of R3 25% black broken #13 screen coffee to many large instant coffee factories in the world.

Robusta Coffee in Vietnam

In Vietnam, Robusta coffee is mainly grown in the Central Highlands, mainly concentrated in five Central Highlands provinces including Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong. Some midland provinces such as Dong Nai and Vung Tau also grow Robusta coffee. Vietnam has famous Robusta coffee growing regions such as Pleiku, Ayun Pa, Buon Ho, Buon Ma Thuot, Dak-min or Cu Kuin. The most prominent of these is Buon Ma Thuot, currently known by the media as the coffee capital of Vietnam.

Along with that, Buon Ma Thuot Robusta coffee is also promoted as a geographical indication for high-quality Robusta coffee of Vietnam. In addition, Long Khanh Robusta coffee (in Dong Nai) also has its own unique characteristics. In particular, some districts in Ba Ria Vung Tau, a coastal province, also grow Robusta coffee and produce relatively good productivity results.

In general, compared to Arabica coffee, the output of Robusta coffee in Vietnam is currently a very large number. Vietnam's Robusta coffee output at peak times reaches 1.5 to 1.7 million tons, 25 times higher than Arabica coffee output (60 thousand tons). Robusta coffee is truly Vietnam's strength, helping our country become number 1 in the world in Robusta coffee export.

Vietnamese people's habit of enjoying Robusta coffee

It can be said that Robusta is very popular in Vietnam. Many coffee drinkers across the country love Robusta coffee. It may be because Robusta is cheaper than Arabica or the supply of Robusta is more abundant. But the main reason certainly comes from the culinary habits of Vietnamese people.

Robusta is popular here simply because it meets the preferences of drinkers. Vietnamese cuisine is famous for its rich flavor due to the habit of using fish sauce and other types of fish sauce. And Robusta has a bitter, strong, less sour taste with a high caffeine content that helps to stay awake and has quickly become loved by many people. There are also differences in roasting methods, Robusta must be roasted dark (dark roast) or super dark (super dark roast) and in most cases, butter is added to create a rich taste of brewed coffee.

Unlike the West, Vietnamese people drink coffee slowly. Coffee is brewed with a filter and drinkers are willing to sit and wait, either alone or talking to friends.

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