Proud of Vietnamese Coffee

Sahra introduced Vietnamese coffee on the Drew Barrymore Show.

My name is Sahra Nguyen. I am a Vietnamese American, born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. My dad is from Hanoi and my mom is from Quang Ngai. Most of my family relatives still live in Vietnam, so growing up I was very lucky to have a strong connection with Vietnamese culture. My parents would bring me to visit Vietnam often when I was younger, during the 1990s. From an early age, I developed a sense of love and pride for the beautiful country of Vietnam, Vietnamese food, culture and coffee. Growing up in the US, I’ve lived through every wave of coffee development. The “First Wave” of coffee was related to the mass market production of coffee, with popular American brands like Folgers and Maxwell. The “Second Wave” of coffee was related to the development of coffee shops and the “to go” model, like Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks. Starbucks was the first company to introduce Italian-style coffee like espresso and latte to the mass market. The “Third Wave” of coffee is related to the idea of “specialty coffee,” with a strong emphasis on science, quality production and transparency (such as recognizing the cities and countries where the coffee beans are grown). Well-known Third Wave specialty coffee brands include Intelligentsia and Blue Bottle Coffee (which was acquired by Nestle in 2017).

Sahra Nguyen was very lucky to have a strong connection with Vietnamese culture.

Third-wave specialty coffee culture in America was very exciting because it focused on quality production which meant better coffee beans for consumers, better opportunities for farmers and better land for long-term economic sustainability. Third-wave specialty coffee culture focused a lot on the origin of the bean – always mentioning where the coffee bean was grown so that customers could have transparency and a deepened appreciation for global cultures. Third-wave specialty coffee culture focused exclusively on the arabica bean, and mostly from Central America, South America and Africa. While I enjoyed the developments of Third Wave coffee, I noticed there was something very important missing from a coffee culture in America: Vietnam.

Unless they’ve traveled to Vietnam, most Americans are totally unfamiliar with Vietnamese coffee. I felt this was a huge missed opportunity for people to enjoy some of the best coffee in the world: Vietnamese coffee. When I started to do my research for my company, Nguyen Coffee Supply, I was so surprised to learn that Vietnam is the number 2 producer of coffee in the world. I asked myself, why isn’t this fact more widely known in America? When I talk to people in America about this fact, they are all surprised as well. Then I realized that people don’t understand Vietnam’s role in the global coffee industry because of a lack of transparency from the companies that use Vietnamese coffee beans. Vietnamese coffee is invisible in the global market. As a proud Vietnamese American, I felt this was a huge injustice to the people of Vietnam who have an amazing coffee culture (phin coffee) and who contribute to coffee experiences around the world. Vietnam deserves to be recognized and appreciated for its important role in the global coffee community. This is why I started Nguyen Coffee Supply.

Sahra Nguyen started Nguyen Coffee Supply in 2018 to bring delicious Vietnamese coffee and phin coffee culture to America.

I started Nguyen Coffee Supply in 2018 to bring delicious Vietnamese coffee and phin coffee culture to America. I knew I had to meet the expectations of American consumers currently in the Third Wave of coffee, so I decided to import green coffee beans and roast them myself, fresh, in Brooklyn, New York. I don’t add any additional ingredients or flavors so that Americans can understand the pure taste of fresh roasted Vietnamese coffee, specifically Vietnam’s most famous bean, robusta. Since all the other coffee companies were focused on arabica beans from South America and Africa, there was nothing like Nguyen Coffee Supply on the American market. So when Americans tasted our fresh roasted Vietnamese coffee and bold robusta beans, they loved it. We launched as an e-commerce and wholesale business so that we can reach as many people as possible. Since launch, we’ve shipped to customers in all 50 states in America, have over 90% five out of five-star reviews on our website, and we’ve been featured on several national television shows including The Drew Barrymore Show, Good Morning America, Bloomberg TV, and CBS Saturday Morning. Now, we are the biggest and most famous specialty Vietnamese coffee company in America.

Looking forward, we are shaping the future of coffee. I believe the next wave of coffee will be about appreciating the robusta bean, appreciating Vietnam as a global player, and appreciating coffee culture such as the phin brewing method. Currently, the world’s top two coffee companies are Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks – both of these are American companies based in America where coffee is not grown. Vietnam has the world’s second-largest source of coffee in the world and the number one source of robusta. With the right approach to marketing, branding and cultural storytelling, I believe a Vietnamese coffee company can be the biggest and most influential company in the world.

A dream this big requires the right partnerships. If you share my vision to bring worldwide respect and recognition to Vietnam for its coffee production, let’s work together. If you care about improving coffee production and farmer’s lives for long-term economic sustainability in the face of climate change, let’s work together. If you want to change the world through Vietnamese coffee, let’s work together. When the global Vietnamese community comes together to combine our resources, knowledge and influence, anything is possible. The future is ours to shape. Wishing you all great health, fortune and happiness. Happy new year!

Sahra Nguyen

Founder & CEO,

Nguyen Coffee Supply

Web: www.nguyencoffeesupply.com

What creates Bon Hiep coffee brand name Coffee has existed in Central Highlands Vietnam for a long time. There are many well-known companies of producing coffee in this area. Bon Hiep Single ...

Vietnam’s coffee exports to Algeria rise sharply Vietnam shipped 74,120 tonnes of coffee beans to Algeria in 2018, earning 132.48 million USD, up 56 percent in volume and 28 percent in value ...