HCM City (VNA) - Stories about the nearly two-century journey of the Vietnamese coffee, from the earliest plantations to the iconic Vietnamese phin-brewing culture, will be vividly reenacted at the upcoming Global Coffee Heritage Festival 2025.
This information was shared at a press conference announcing the festival, held on November 25 in Ho Chi Minh City.
To be co-organised by the People’s Committee of Lam Dong province and TNI Corporation (King Coffee), the festival will be an international cultural–tourism–trade event taking place for the first time in Da Lat, the capital of the Central Highlands province. Running from December 18, 2025 to January 2, 2026, the festival is designed to become a new cultural and economic symbol in Vietnam’s coffee production and export industry.
Addressing the press conference, Le Hoang Diep Thao, CEO of TNI Corporation and widely known as the “Queen of Vietnamese Coffee,” outlined the nearly 200-year journey of Vietnam’s coffee, from the earliest plantations in the Central Highlands to Vietnam’s position today as the world’s second-largest coffee producer.
This year’s Global Coffee Heritage Festival is a strategic milestone affirming Vietnam’s status as a global powerhouse in Robusta coffee exports and its capacity to become a hub for celebrating global coffee heritage, she said.
Pham S., former Vice Chairman of the Lam Dong People’s Committee, added that around 70 countries grow coffee worldwide. The global average coffee yield is about 0.9 tonnes per hectare, while Vietnam’s yield reaches 2.5 tonnes, three times the world average. Lam Dong province currently has 41,700 hectares of coffee plantations, producing 120,000 tonnes, accounting for 43% of the planted area but 58% of the total output.
“This shows that Lam Dong is not only Vietnam’s coffee capital but also the world’s,” said he. “Through this festival, we aim to transform coffee from an agricultural commodity into a heritage of cultural, economic, and tourism value.”
Nguyen Thi Xuan Huong, head of the Organising Committee, stated that the event will welcome companies and associations from leading coffee-producing nations such as Brazil, Ethiopia, and Indonesia. This opens opportunities for new export and cooperation partnerships, promoting the coffee industry toward a creative economic model.
Featuring the International Coffee Conference and the establishment announcement of the Vietnam–World Coffee Alliance (GCA); an exhibition of a restored 1932 heritage train carriage “Coffee Heritage Carriage”; the Global Coffee Journey Week; and a grand music night blending traditional and contemporary performances called “Coffee Music Night”, the Global Coffee Heritage Festival is set to become a tourism and economic brand. It will contribute to local development, promote Vietnam’s image, and affirm to the world that Vietnamese coffee is not only abundant in quantity but also rich in stories, culture, and vision.
Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, emphasized that the festival will also reflect Vietnam’s pioneering role in hosting a global-scale coffee event - connecting the past, present, and future of the coffee industry on a foundation of sustainability and heritage.
As part of the Global Coffee Heritage Festival 2025, an international barista contest will be held under the theme “Honouring Talent – Affirming Heritage.” This will be an international stage where baristas - the “keepers of the heritage flame” - can showcase their creativity and contribute to the sustainable development of the coffee industry./.
