A Vietnamese Coffee Bean's Journey From the Field to Your Cup
As you sit down to enjoy your daily cup of coffee, have you ever thought carefully about how those beans made it into your cup?
If you have, you certainly aren’t alone. Consideration of how coffee has been sourced has been a feature of specialty and third-wave coffee for some time now.
A coffee’s origin has a lot to do with its flavor profile. In addition to this, there are many ethical questions surrounding coffee production that we should all be increasingly aware of.
So how exactly has that perfectly roasted Vietnamese coffee from Belvico made it into your cup? Let’s take a closer look at the care and attention Belvico puts into each bean.
A Family Business
Belvico has been a family business from the beginning. Our director and co-founder, Linh, comes from a long line of coffee farmers.
After studying and learning more about the processing and roasting of coffee in HCMC, Linh was determined to grow, process and roast high-quality Vietnamese coffee.
After meeting with Belgian business partner Kay and his family, this dream became a reality. The journey to the best specialty coffee in Vietnam all began with local farmers from the Central Highlands.
Direct Trade
Direct trade is often featured on labels coffee and other agricultural products, but what does it mean exactly?
At the fundamental level, Direct Trade is about working directly with farmers rather than distributors or wholesalers and ensuring that all parties to the transaction are treated fairly and receive a fair share of profits.
Belvico used direct trade from the very beginning without even realizing it! It was the logical way of doing business for the son of a coffee farmer with personal connections throughout the Central Highlands.
A key challenge for Belvico early on was ensuring the quality of the coffee beans that they were receiving. Traditionally, coffee production was sold for industrial purposes, such as instant coffee.
For these buyers, the quantity was a much higher priority than quality. This was an issue for Belvico, which was looking for premium quality beans to roast.
Belvico began working directly with farmers to grow, pick, and select only the highest quality Robusta and Arabica beans for processing.
Because Belvico has these direct relationships with farmers, they can control quality from the very beginning in the fields.
Control Over Processing
The next step in ensuring quality coffee is keeping tight control over the processing of the beans as they come in from the farm.
There are countless variables that, if not properly managed, can impact the final taste of the roasted coffee. Belvico maintains its very own processing facility so that they have direct control over the process.
There are two methods Belvico uses for the processing of coffee. The first is the more modern wet method, which uses water channels and a pulping machine to remove the cherry from the bean.
Fermentation is then used to remove the final layer covering the beans, which are then dried in greenhouses. Most producers aim to get moisture content down to around 11%.
The second method is called ‘honey’ processing. This is a slightly more traditional processing style that allows the beans to dry without the fermentation step detailed above, leaving traces of the coffee cherry on the bean.
Any final traces of the cherry are removed in the milling process after the bean is dried, but by skipping the fermentation step, some interesting new flavors can be developed in the coffee.
Getting the Perfect Roast
Once Belvico receives the processed green beans at their roasting facility, the magic begins. Using the best in roasting technology, these great coffee beans are roasted to perfection.
The computer-controlled roasters used by Belvico allow us to dial in the perfect roast profile every time, ensuring consistent results.
If you look at the range of coffee available from Belvico, you will see that we offer a roast type for every major coffee brewing style, from espresso to pour-over.
No matter your preferred coffee brewing method, you can get great results with Belvico coffee.
The Best Vietnamese Coffee in Your Cup
When you are drinking a cup of Belvico coffee, you can rest assured that you are drinking the finest coffee that the Central Highlands has to offer.
Belvico ensures that your coffee takes the most direct path from the farm to your cup, ensuring you will only receive high quality and ethically sourced Vietnamese specialty coffee.
