La Viet Coffee

Overview

La Viet was founded in 2013 in Da Lat — the heart of Vietnam's Central Highlands arabica region — by Tran Nhat Quang, who set out to challenge Vietnam's robusta-dominated reputation by working directly with arabica growers across Lam Dong Province at a time when most local roasters were adulterating their beans with soybeans, corn charcoal, and dyes. The roastery operates from a converted industrial warehouse with production roasters ranging from 10kg to 70kg, focused entirely on Vietnamese arabica. La Viet now runs around 11 establishments across Vietnam and was profiled in early Western coverage of Vietnam's nascent specialty scene alongside Will Frith and the Workshop in Saigon.

Known for

• Founded 2013 in Da Lat by Tran Nhat Quang — pioneer of Vietnamese arabica specialty
• Crop-to-cup operation: grows, harvests, processes, roasts, and supplies local Vietnamese arabica from Da Lat
• Industrial-warehouse roastery and tasting lab in central Da Lat
• Production roasters 10kg–70kg
• 11 cafés nationwide (per Vietcetera)

Why it matters

Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee exporter but is overwhelmingly a robusta producer with a low-quality reputation — La Viet was among the very first Vietnamese roasteries to bet on domestic arabica, processed and roasted to specialty standards. Quang's work with farmers in Lam Dong, alongside contemporaries like K'Ho Coffee and the Workshop, is what allowed Starbucks Reserve Da Lat to even exist as a category and what set the foundation for Vietnamese specialty exports.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

Tran Nhat Quang

color sorting

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roaster machine

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filter equipment

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cupping frequency

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roastery location

Da Lat, Lam Dong Province (industrial warehouse)

espresso equipment

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annual volume tonnes

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Café

This roaster operates a café.

Recognitions

• Pioneer of Vietnamese arabica specialty coffee (founded 2013, profiled by Vietcetera among the country's flagship brands)

Sources

• https://vietcetera.com/en/7-vietnamese-coffee-brands-you-should-know
• https://laviet.coffee/en/la-viet-coffee-the-best-specialty-coffee-shop-in-dalat/
• https://laviet.coffee/en/vietnams-small-but-growing-specialty-coffee-movement/
• https://laviet.coffee/en/vietnams-arabica-push-on-la-viet-dalat/
• https://tridentcoffee.com/blogs/news/origin-trip-da-lat-vietnam