Specialty Coffee in Vietnam: Why More People Are Switching from Regular Ground Coffee

If you’ve noticed bags of coffee labeled “washed,” “honey,” “Yirgacheffe,” or “cupping score 84” showing up next to the ground coffee you usually grab at the store, you’re not imagining things. Specialty coffee is showing up more and more on shelves and in cafés across Vietnam’s cities. This post breaks down what specialty coffee actually means, why the trend is picking up, and where to start if you want to try it.

What makes coffee “specialty” instead of just regular ground coffee

Specialty coffee isn’t a brand or a specific roast level — it’s a quality standard applied across the whole chain, from where the coffee is grown to how it’s processed and roasted. Three differences stand out:

Clear traceability: the bag usually names the actual growing region — Ethiopia’s Yirgacheffe, or Cau Dat in Lam Dong — rather than a vague “Arabica” or “Robusta” label.

Disclosed processing method: washed (clean, bright acidity), honey (mild sweetness, longer finish), or natural (bold fruit notes, sweet aftertaste) — each method produces a distinct flavor profile, and specialty drinkers tend to pick based on the flavor range they enjoy rather than just “strong” or “mild.”

Transparent cupping scores: specialty coffee is typically cupped and scored (usually 80 points or above on a 100-point scale) by trained tasters, giving buyers an actual basis for comparing quality between batches instead of guessing.

Why more people in Vietnam are switching to specialty coffee

For a growing number of drinkers, coffee has stopped being just a morning wake-up ritual and become part of a broader lifestyle choice — the same way people now pay attention to where their food or wine comes from. Choosing a bag that spells out the growing region, processing method, and roast date makes the decision feel more deliberate, rather than defaulting to whatever brand is familiar.

Taste habits are diversifying too. Traditional phin brewing still dominates, but more young, urban drinkers are switching to home brewing methods like pour-over, AeroPress, or mini espresso machines — methods that showcase a coffee’s specific flavor notes far more clearly than a strong phin brew does. As that shift happens, demand for higher-quality, traceable coffee naturally follows.

Market context

According to GlobalData’s “Hot Topics Case Study: Specialty Coffee,” published in late July 2026 and cited by Tuoi Tre Online, a survey of more than 22,200 consumers across 42 countries found that 51% said information about product origin influences their coffee purchase decisions, and 67% said they’re willing to buy more from brands that align with their personal values. Shagun Sachdeva, Head of Consumer and Foodservice at GlobalData, noted that this pairing of premium taste with consumer values is creating clear commercial opportunity for specialty coffee — including in developing coffee markets in Asia such as Vietnam.

Why choose EPIC

Self-roasted in Saigon, tuned batch by batch: EPIC Coffee Roaster has roasted its own coffee in Saigon on drum roasters since 2014 — the same spirit behind specialty coffee, where roast profiles are adjusted to each lot’s characteristics instead of running one generic profile for everything.

Green beans hand-sorted before roasting: consistent with the traceability point above, EPIC imports green beans by the sack and hand-sorts them before roasting, so quality control starts at the input stage rather than being judged only after the fact.

Rested after roasting, packed to order: coffee is rested after roasting and then packed per order, which keeps it fresh by the time it reaches you — important for actually tasting the washed, honey, or natural profiles described above, rather than flavor that’s faded from sitting in a warehouse.

Recognized in international markets: EPIC coffee has previously been exported to Russia and the Netherlands, a sign that quality has held up in markets already used to high-standard coffee.

Both a roastery and a café to try it in person: EPIC runs its roasting facility at 54/8 Ao Doi, Binh Hung Hoa, alongside its café at 49 Ngo Thoi Nhiem, District 3 — if you’re unsure which processing profile suits you, you can taste it in person before buying a bag to take home.

Ready to try EPIC’s specialty coffee for yourself? Browse the retail lineup at epicroastery.coffee/en/coffee.