15 Vietnamese coffee brands compete in first Vietpresso Competition

For the first time ever, 15 prestigious coffee brands and coffee chains of Vietnam participated in the Vietpresso 2019 Contest on November 15.

The jury present the awards to the competition winners.
The jury present the awards to the competition winners.

The event was aimed at promoting the value of Vietnamese coffee towards higher export value.

Trung Nguyen, Dakmark, Legend Revived, Hello 5, Truong Son Coffee, Anh Coffee, Farm World Coffee, L'amant Café, Honee Coffee, Real Bean Coffee , Anni Coffee, Lion Coffee, Folliet, BonCafé and Café RuNam used coffee materials sourced entirely from Vietnam to make Espresso cups according to their own brand formula, from which to determine the best Vietnamese coffee to promote to the world.

The three judges of the contest were Roberto Cajati - Deputy Consul General of Italy in Ho Chi Minh City, Richard Toix, a famous French chef and culinary expert, and Nguyen Nam Hai, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Coffee - Cocoa Association.

Based on such criteria as crema, body, flavour-aroma, aftertaste, acidity and bitterness, the jury voted to present the gold award to Real Bean Coffee, while the silver award was given to Trung Nguyen Legend and the bronze went to Lamant Coffee. Some of the best quality coffee products from the contest will be introduced in European countries during a Vietnamese coffee promotion programme in 2020.

Head of the European-American Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Ta Hoang Linh said that Vietnam currently ranks second in the world in terms of coffee export and is the top global supplier in robusta coffee. In 2018, coffee export turnover reached 1.88 million tonnes, worth US$3.5 billion, up nearly 20% in volume but only rising 1% in value compared to 2017. According to Linh, the above statistics required more research and product and branding development to promote Vietnam's processed coffee products to the world.

Paul Le, Import and Export Director of Central Retail Vietnam – the contest’s organisers – said that prestigious coffee producers and traders of Vietnam gathered at the contest to work together to build a completely new coffee product to suit the tastes of Western countries – the largest coffee consuming market in the world. This is an opportunity for all domestic coffee producers and traders to join hands to affirm the Vietnamese coffee brand and bring high-quality Vietnamese coffee to the world, Le added.

The competition is within the framework of the ongoing Vietnam Foodexpo 2019, which is taking place at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City. The event offers a good opportunity for Vietnamese coffee businesses to introduce their products to consumers and connect with coffee importers from other countries around the world.