Vietnam stirs US coffee aficionado into action
HANOI — For Will Frith, born in the United States to a US father and Vietnamese mother, a visit to Vietnam in 2004 ignited a passion for coffee that would change his life.
His mission on that first trip was to see his grandmother. But along the way, he had the chance to experience the Vietnamese coffee culture, “sitting in the small plastic stool, watching the world go by while slowly sipping the ca phe da (iced coffee)”, he recalls.
He describes the now-familiar flavor as “nutty chocolate and caramel ice cream with a bitter aftertaste”.
“Everything I heard, smelled, saw and tasted was familiar thanks to my early exposure to the sounds of the language, the food and customs. I couldn’t quite understand why it was so familiar, but it felt something like ‘home’,” said Frith.
The passion for Vietnamese coffee, combined with his experiences working as a roaster in Washington after graduating from college, led Frith to a career in coffee consultation. While working in the US, he maintained an interest in his mother’s country and its coffee.
“What keeps me engaged in the country (Vietnam) is its potential for producing great coffee and a fascinating coffee culture that is growing quickly,” said Frith.
In 2013 he moved to HCM City on a mission to find high-quality arabica in Da Lat and over the past few years has worked with specialty cafes and organizations.
Frith focused mostly on roaster training, barista training, quality control and product development.
Frith has became part of a small, young community of producers, processors, green coffee buyers and roasters who are trying to “make Vietnamese coffee something legit and worthy of attention”.
“People must be patient, with the ability to take some risks, because it’s a slow process requiring a long-term approach. They must have a good attitude, and be willing to collaborate with others — even their competitors. We all need to work together to grow the high-quality segment of the coffee industry. No single entity can do it alone,” said Frith.