As the country’s "coffee capital", producing approximately 30 - 35% of the national  coffee output, Dak Lak is facing a historic challenge: shifting from a mindset focused on raw coffee production and trading to an integrated, multi-layered value chain capable of transforming Robusta beans into a high-value heritage agricultural product.

Positioning Robusta as the world's finest coffee

To dispel the perception that Robusta is merely a low-grade coffee, Dak Lak together with the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association has consistently pursued a strategy focused on quality improvement and positioning Robusta as a specialty coffee.

The Vietnam Specialty Coffee Competition, held annually since 2019, has served as a platform to demonstrate the quality of Robusta beans from the Central Highlands. In particular, entries of the 2026 competition increased by nearly 30% compared with 2025 and totalled 348 tonnes, including 262 tonnes of Robusta.

Dak Lak coffee undergoing modern processing and drying to produce high-quality coffee products.

Alongside quality, the economic value of specialty Robusta has also been demonstrated through public auctions. At the 2024 auction in Hanoi, the top-ranked specialty Robusta lot was sold to international roasters at a record price of 720,000 VND per kilogram, compared with the starting price of 250,000 VND per kilogram.

In Dak Lak, Aeroco Coffee has received specialty coffee certification for eight consecutive years (2019-2026) and won first prize in the global Robusta category at  GCEF in 2024, further demonstrating the quality of Buon Ma Thuot Robusta coffee.

Mr. Trinh Duc Minh, Chairman of the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association, said that the core value of Dak Lak coffee lies not in the final product or large-scale production, but in the accumulated knowledge of cultivation, processing and sensory evaluation passed down through numerous generations. The Vietnam Specialty Coffee Competition provides an important source of practical data for researching, standardising as well as improving coffee quality.

Honouring indigenous knowledge in coffee cultivation and processing

The journey towards a billion-dollar value chain for Dak Lak's coffee industry is  inseparable from its indigenous farmers. In March 2025, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism officially included "Knowledge of Coffee Cultivation and Processing in Dak Lak" in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List, affirming the value of a system of accumulated knowledge spanning more than a century.

Dak Lak coffee viewed as a comprehensive value ecosystem.

Indigenous knowledge in Dak Lak encompasses an in-depth understanding of the basalt red-soil ecosystem, cultivation techniques, methods for regulating irrigation during the dry season, as well as the skills required to selectively harvest ripe cherries. From the perspective of intangible cultural heritage, Central Highlands coffee culture is not merely a technical activity, but a vibrant, living knowledge ecosystem.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Dang Van Bai, Vice Chairman of the National Cultural Heritage Council, affirmed that the essence of coffee culture lies in transforming an agricultural product into heritage. The indigenous knowledge of the Ede and M'nong peoples in adapting coffee cultivation to multi-layered farming models constitutes "cultural capital" that creates sustainable added value for the sector.

To disseminate technical knowledge and enhance the value of coffee beans, from 2019 - 2025, the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association coordinated 14 training courses on high-quality coffee processing, five specialty coffee roasting courses, as well as numerous sensory evaluation courses based on international SCA/CQI standards. The Specialty Coffee Development Fund, meanwhile, disbursed more than 200 million VND to support training courses and provide drying sheets to farmers.

The convergence of indigenous knowledge, modern processing technology, coupled with application of digital technology is generating novel momentum. By integrating traditional cultivation knowledge into the Specialty Coffee Development Scheme, developing a circular, low-emission value chain towards net zero and promoting deep processing, Dak Lak is gradually increasing the value of Robusta beans while turning Buon Ma Thuot into the "Coffee City of the World".

Translated by KHUONG THAO