Vietnam is the second largest producer of coffee in the world, but historically hasn't grown or enjoyed drinking it much. The Vietnamese are traditionally tea drinkers, in fact some of the oldest tea trees in the world are found here. French colonists introduced coffee and K'Ho tribespeople successfully grew heirloom Arabica from the 19th century onwards.   War disrupted production and trade for about 20 years, but it started up again and has proven to be an economic boon;  in 1994, 60% of Vietnamese lived under the poverty line, and now less than 10%.  Much of this was thanks to the hardy Robusta coffee tree, a relation to the Arabica coffee tree. The Robusta tree is easier to grow at lower altitudes and produces larger beans with more caffeine, but have half of the chemicals that make up the complex flavor in a cup of brewed Arabica. Traditional Vietnamese coffee balances the bitter taste of Robusta by adding condensed milk (ca phe sua da), or even eggs (ca phe trung). Coffee drinkers the world over may not know it, but they too mostly drink Vietnamese Robusta, in instant coffees.  Overall, coffee production has been good for Vietnam, but there have also been significant downsides: deforestation, soil exhaustion, and exploitation of farmers. We at K'Ho Coffee want to start afresh, by growing coffee in environmentally friendly ways, and putting the profits back in the hands of the growers.