Ca Phe Sua, anyone?

MANILA, Philippines - It has always been my dream to see the Central Highlands of Vietnam where coffee farms abound. Well, the dream came true when we received an invitation from the Hans R. Neumann Foundation to visit their project in Daklak Province, Vietnam.

More than just a CSR effort, the Neumann Kaffee Gruppe finds a business reason in promoting sustainable agriculture especially in Vietnam. This country of 85 million people now supplies most of the Robusta coffee in the world and currently occupies the No. 2 slot as top producer, next only to old-timer Brazil and dislodging Colombia from the second slot in coffee production. 

Further, if all projections are correct, Neumann expects worldwide coffee demand to exceed production by about 32 million bags (of 60 kilos each) in year 2020.

We connected via Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) to Buon Ma Thout (also called Bien ma Thout, BanMe, and BMT) in Daklak province, and checked in at Saigon BanMe Hotel right across the Victory monument.

Buon Ma Thout is the first city that fell and was captured by Vietcong troops in 1975. A military tank on the monument represents this significant event.

The Philippine delegation to Vietnam’s coffee study tour belonged to the supply chain of coffee: Jim Milabo represented farmers and nursery owners; Nicky Matti represented the millers and traders, Manny Torrejon for the roaster segment; Steve Benitez of Bo’s Coffee for coffee shops, and myself, for the retailer category. We were joined by Marriz Agbon, president of the GOCC of the Department of Agriculture known as PADCC.

The Philippine delegation inspects the equipment at a coffee farmer’s home in Krong Pach (top). Various tissue cultures are used to replicate coffee varieties (above). The Western Highlands Agro-Forestry Scientific and Technical Institute (right). The delegation learns Vietnam’s coffee production secrets (below right).

On the Vietnam side, we were taken around by EDE Consulting, the project team headed by Dave D’Haeze and ably supported by Doan Tran Thu Thuy, project assistant, and Nguyen Trong Tuong, project coordinator.

The Project: Assisting farmers to form groups or cooperatives, assisting them in research and development of the best coffee cultivars and water and soil management.

To put everything in perspective, the Philippines’ average Robusta production is 700 kilos per hectare or 700 grams per tree in an average density of 1,100 trees/hectare. In Vietnam, farmers ordinarily harvest 3,000 kilos to 5,000 kilos per hectare or 3-5 kilos per tree! What is their secret?

We went to the following supporting agencies that spell the Vietnamese secret to high production: The Western Highlands Agro-Forestry Scientific and Technical Institute (WASI) and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Technology in Daklak.

Along the way you will see the progress of the towns, all brought on by coffee. The country started on a baseline of 2,000 hectares in 1975. Today, they have over 200,000 hectares in Daklak alone, out of about 500,000 hectares total in Vietnam.

The coffee culture is predominant in Buon Ma Thout, with cafes situated close to each other. Every other restaurant serves ca phe (local name for coffee), of different national brands like Trung Nguyen and Mehyco (inspired by Mexico maybe?). The coffee is rich and thick and is served with a side of condensed milk with or without ice. This is called ca phe sua.

At every meeting we had, it was standard fare to be served a cup of hot tea and a cup or shot glass of coffee with condensed milk (milk on the bottom, coffee on top), and you stir as you wish, resulting in a chocolatey mélange of tastes only found in Vietnamese coffee.

After discussions about coffee, we try their local dishes like Vietnamese spring rolls served with fresh mint, lettuce and basil; banana heart salad with shrimps and seafood, with vinaigrette; crispy pork, and hotpot of fish and shrimps or chicken sitting on a bed of lemongrass. 

The lunches are capped with ca phe sua and a serving of fresh pomelo with chili salt.

Our visit to WASI showed us the 170 hectares of Arabica and Robusta coffee trees, plantation teak, and other companion crops of coffee like cacao and corn. The government supports farmers through research and technology, through policies that enable farmers to increase their production while having companion crops in between coffee harvests.

Typical models of sustainable agriculture were shown to us in Krong Pach district, about 30 kilometers from Buon Ma Thout, where a typical household has two cows, 1 to 3 hectares of coffee, black pepper, corn, and paddy rice.

The cow manure is used to fertilize the crops, and the cow is sold when it gets big enough for market.

How sustainable and progressive are the Krong Pach or Buon Ma Thout farmers? After each coffee harvest, there is a spike in sales of motorcycles, agricultural machinery and consumer durables like television sets and other appliances.

The city of Buon Ma Thout is a classic example of how coffee can improve and continuously affect a town’s economy. There are four-star hotels, a lot of businesses, an electronics mall, and scores of cafes and restaurants. You will also see farmers’ supply stores for seedlings, fertilizers and equipment – signs that this is a town fueled by the brew that is most widely traded in the world market, next only to petroleum: coffee.