Why We Chose Đắk Lắk: The Home of Vietnamese Coffee

When we started Đất Coffee, we knew one thing from the beginning: our coffee had to come from Vietnam.

But Vietnam is a vast and diverse coffee-producing country. So the next question was simple:

Where in Vietnam should our coffee come from?

Our answer was Đắk Lắk.

Located in Vietnam's Central Highlands, Đắk Lắk is one of the country's most important coffee-growing regions and has a particularly strong connection with Robusta coffee.

For us, choosing Đắk Lắk wasn't simply about finding somewhere that grows coffee.

It was about finding an origin that represents the character, history and culture of Vietnamese coffee.

Where is Đắk Lắk?

Đắk Lắk is located in Vietnam's Central Highlands, a region known for its agricultural landscapes, rich volcanic soils and coffee production.

The province is centred around Buôn Ma Thuột, a city widely recognised as one of Vietnam's most important coffee centres.

Coffee has become deeply connected to the region's economy and identity, with generations of farmers growing coffee across the Central Highlands.

The landscape is very different from Vietnam's major cities.

Instead of busy streets and high-rise buildings, the region is characterised by coffee plantations, red basaltic soil and expansive agricultural land.

This is where much of the coffee that helped establish Vietnam as a major coffee-producing country begins its journey.

Why is Đắk Lắk famous for coffee?

Vietnam is particularly well known for producing Robusta coffee, and Đắk Lắk is at the heart of that story.

The Central Highlands provide growing conditions that are well suited to Robusta, including a warm climate and elevations that support coffee cultivation.

Robusta is also naturally more resilient than Arabica, making it well suited to the conditions found across much of Vietnam's coffee-growing regions.

But geography is only part of the story.

The knowledge and experience of the farmers who grow the coffee are just as important.

Over generations, coffee cultivation has become part of the agricultural culture of Đắk Lắk.

Vietnamese Robusta deserves more attention

For a long time, Robusta has sometimes been treated as the less sophisticated cousin of Arabica.

We don't see it that way.

Good coffee starts with good beans, regardless of whether they are Arabica or Robusta.

When grown, processed and roasted carefully, Robusta can have remarkable depth.

Vietnamese Robusta can offer flavours such as:

• Dark chocolate

• Roasted nuts

• Caramel

• Cocoa

• Spice

• Toasted grain

It also brings something that is particularly important to us: body.

That richness makes Vietnamese Robusta particularly well suited to the traditional ways Vietnamese coffee is enjoyed, from a strong phin-filter coffee to cà phê sữa đá with condensed milk.

Đắk Lắk and Vietnamese coffee culture

Coffee isn't simply an agricultural product in Vietnam.

It is part of everyday life.

Walk through a Vietnamese city and you'll find coffee everywhere: small street cafés, modern speciality coffee shops, traditional cafés and everything in between.

The traditional phin filter is one of the clearest examples of this culture.

Coffee slowly drips through the metal filter into a glass below, creating a concentrated and aromatic brew.

Add condensed milk and ice, and you have cà phê sữa đá — one of Vietnam's most recognisable coffee drinks.

The bold character of Vietnamese Robusta makes it particularly well suited to this style of brewing.

For Đất Coffee, we wanted to celebrate that character rather than hide it.

Why not choose somewhere else?

Vietnam has many coffee-growing regions, and there are excellent coffees produced throughout the country.

But Đắk Lắk stood out to us because of its connection with Vietnamese coffee.

It represents something bigger than a location on a map.

It represents:

Vietnamese coffee.
The Central Highlands.
Robusta.
Farmers and generations of knowledge.
And a coffee culture that has become part of everyday Vietnamese life.

We wanted our brand to have a genuine sense of place.

Choosing Đắk Lắk gave us that.

The land behind the name Đất

The name Đất means “earth” or “land” in Vietnamese.

That connection is important to us.

Coffee begins with the land.

Before the roasting, packaging and brewing, there is the soil, the coffee plant, the farmer and the place where the beans are grown.

That's why our name isn't simply a reference to Vietnam.

It's a reminder of where coffee begins.

From the đất. From the land.

Our 70/30 Arabica and Robusta blend

Our connection with Đắk Lắk is also reflected in our 70/30 Arabica and Robusta blend.

The blend brings together two different sides of coffee.

Arabica can contribute sweetness, acidity and complexity, while Robusta brings body, intensity and a deeper coffee character.

Together, they create a balanced cup with plenty of character.

And while the blend is designed for modern coffee drinkers, its foundation remains Vietnamese.

Coffee from Đắk Lắk.

We're proud of where our coffee comes from

There are countless places around the world where exceptional coffee is grown.

But for Đất Coffee, our story begins in one particular place.

Đắk Lắk, Vietnam.

We chose it because of its importance to Vietnamese coffee, its connection to Robusta and its place at the heart of the country's Central Highlands coffee culture.

Most importantly, we chose it because we believe Vietnamese coffee deserves to be experienced for what it is — not simply compared with coffee from somewhere else.

Our goal is to bring the character of Vietnamese coffee to coffee drinkers in the UK while respecting where it comes from.

From the land.

From Vietnam.

From Đắk Lắk.

This is Đất Coffee.

Vietnamese coffee. From the land.