The GDR and Vietnam: From Fake Coffee to Coffee Empire
katjahoyer.uk34 points by NaOH 3 days ago
34 points by NaOH 3 days ago
I was just in Hanoi, and some of their roasters are incredible value for money.
Lots of co-fermented specialty Vietnam-grown Robusta and Liberica at incredible prices, far cheaper than what people would find from roasters that import their beans from Colombia or any of the other big coffee-growing countries.
> Lots of co-fermented specialty Vietnam-grown Robusta and Liberica at incredible prices, far cheaper than what people would find from roasters that import their beans from Colombia or any of the other big coffee-growing countries.
Robusta at least is substantially cheaper, because yields are better and it’s less affected by disease. I don’t know enough about Liberica to know how it yields.
Also, “co-fermented coffee” generally is just code for flavored pre-roast flavored these days, especially out of Colombia. Not sure if that’s made it to Vietnam, but I’m always going to raise an eyebrow with co ferments these days. Not that they can’t be tasty, but they shouldn’t command a price premium if it’s essentially just flavored coffee in my view.
A fun read. It's interesting to think about the trade limitations imposed on East Germany and how those impacted daily things we take for granted.
Coffee with Chicory? Tres Frenchy. Coffee with Chicory, Oats, and christ knows what? Not chic.
The article never defines GDR, but I looked it up in case you were also unfamiliar:
The German Democratic Republic (GDR), commonly known as East Germany, was a socialist state in Central Europe that existed from October 7, 1949, to October 3, 1990
The German acronym (DDR) is much better known among Eastern Europeans. My parents (Czech) would almost never call it East Germany.
What an interesting slice of history.