Vietnamese are drinking 'bad' coffee

The Vietnam Standards and Consumers Association (Vinatas) has just announced the results of a survey on coffee drinks in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Soc Trang.

Accordingly, of the 253 coffee samples surveyed, 30.04% had very low caffeine content (less than 1 gram per liter). Notably, 5 samples contained no caffeine at all.

These survey samples were randomly purchased at different coffee shops, including polite coffee shops, street cafes, hospital canteens, coffee carts, and sidewalk cafes.

Coffee with no caffeine or negligible caffeine content is mainly sold at sidewalk cafes, carts, hospital canteens, and schools.

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According to Vinatas, the results of this quick survey mainly reflect the coffee being supplied to the mass market segment. Therefore, to have a more comprehensive view of the brewed coffee market in Vietnam, especially in terms of quality, hygiene and safety, research on more indicators and in a larger area is needed. Vinatas said that in the near future, the survey will be expanded to other areas.

According to the report on the Vietnamese coffee industry by the US Department of Agriculture (published on January 6, 2016), in the 2015-2016 crop year, domestic consumption of roasted and ground coffee in Vietnam is estimated at 2.25 million bags, equivalent to 135 million kg of raw coffee (each bag of coffee is 60 kg according to international coffee industry standards).

Based on this figure and based on the standards of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, to make a 150ml cup of coffee requires an average of 8 to 8.5 grams of coffee beans (raw coffee), corresponding to 0.008 kg of coffee (if diluted) and 0.0085 kg of coffee (if brewed strong).

Thus, one kilogram of coffee (raw material) if diluted can make 125 cups of coffee. Similarly, one kilogram of coffee (raw material) if brewed strong can make 118 cups of coffee.

According to VNE