A cup of coffee is associated with the memories of generations of old Saigon people. A cup of coffee associated with many happy and sad stories, and a new pipe tobacco has created a unique soul for a coffee culture of this land.
Every morning when I open my eyes, I have seen 5-10 coffee shops, so they competed to open wildly. Not only luxury shops, but also restaurants serving take-away style, and for many different customers. As if, coffee is turning itself into a drink of the trend and the times. More and more people drink coffee, do we have too much free time for drinking coffee and surfing Facebook?
To understand this, we must first delve into this so-called “modern coffee culture explosion” in Vietnam, more specifically in Saigon. Coffee culture, it used to be sitting leisurely, freely, slowly sipping a cup of Vietnamese traditional coffee, traditional filter coffee. Each drop of coffee drips down, like a bag of essence distilled over time. Coffee is pure or not depends on the mind of the seller, but one thing is certain that it helps us become more awake. For decades, when we talk about filter coffee, we immediately refer to a standard in the culture of enjoying coffee that everyone has experienced. Then entering the 21st century, Vietnamese people witnessed the appearance of coffee machines, used in 5-star hotels and high-class cafes. From here, a new concept called "Italian Espresso Coffee Culture" gradually formed in the subconscious of Saigon people.
Coffee chains are popping up everywhere. Focusing on new markets and introducing espresso-flavored drinks, soon won the hearts of coffee lovers. Traditional coffee shops see a disadvantage in front of competitors, so they learn and develop according to their own taste. Traditional coffee has since been forgotten.
Then we also forgot about the taste of traditional filter coffee because of our circumstances
"If we can't win against our competitors, we'd better live in harmony with them and cooperate for a long time," said a coffee business household.
The most noticeable is the fact that coffee shops compete with each other to affirm the brand "100% pure coffee" when the demand for coffee quality of consumers is increasing. The quality of coffee in the region has rapidly improved markedly, the skills of the harvesters, and the techniques of roasters have been increasingly improved, in order to both ensure to provide consumers with Quality products come with reasonable prices. At home, drinking Espresso coffee, no one is interested in the traditional hot filter coffee cups of a while. However, according to a survey, 5% of people in Saigon still prefer and remain loyal to traditional filter coffee, regardless of social trends.
Then what will happen? I consulted with several locals, including specialty café owners, customers, and casual coffee owners. Let's see what they say.
“The coffee market is gradually developing and perfecting specialized coffee lines to meet the needs of users,” said Dung, a local cafe owner, chatting while sipping high-class Kenyan coffee. grant, said.
Kim, a young barista with the ability to change things with lattes, now working at a trendy cafe, believes that many Vietnamese don't care much about whether the coffee is 100% pure or not. , or using a drying method, produced on average or even from weasel droppings (Café Weasel). They only care that the coffee is good or not.
“If it tastes good, they will drink!”
Khoa, a passionate roaster in District 3, describes the coffee boom as a trend and phenomenon. New businesses try to invest in nuts with new flavors, but only a few succeed – about 50% in his opinion.
“Special coffee will prevail as many owners stick to the principles of local coffee farms.”
He predicts that processing methods such as Chemex, Syphon, V60 and his unique know-how will outperform.
“Cold brewed coffee with extract helps retain the maximum coffee flavor for 4 hours.”
Son, the owner of a coffee shop in Dong Nai, said that in the past, Vietnamese people have started the journey to find the pure taste of traditional coffee. His roadside cafe located between Saigon and Vung Tau quickly became a stopover for many people, with the desire to find a little bit of the pure, rich flavor of a traditional cup of coffee. Hitting the right psychology of customers has made Mr. Son's business more successful than ever.
There are places that not only sell coffee beans, but also roast coffee on the spot, to give diners the opportunity to admire what is called "traditional Vietnamese coffee culture".
“The aroma of pure roasted coffee is always rich, passionate and perfect taste.” – James Hoffman, World Barista Champion 2007 said.
Specialty coffee is gradually becoming a new concept, formed in the minds of young people, a generation of "coffee addicts" is increasingly finding their own nostalgic values. New perceptions about local coffee specialties are interesting and surprising, especially for a country with the second largest Robusta coffee production in the world like Vietnam. This will generally promote the transaction of Arabica coffee, contributing to improving the position of Vietnamese coffee globally.
Saigon still retains the soul, the core of this country's coffee culture, despite the modernization of society. Only when you leave the "Pearl of the Far East" do you understand how lucky it is to find yourself a classic pure coffee. But if so, it is unlikely that you will feel the most characteristic taste of this Saigon coffee.
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