Vietnamese Green beans

[davwhite]

Recently I spent 2 weeks touring Vietnam from Saigon to Hanoi and in passing let me tell you it was one of the best countries I have ever visited.

Anyway I am in the local market where a section is devoted to roasted coffee and it was interesting to note the different types.

Asked, out of curiosity, if they had any green beans and before you could say coffee I was fronted with several bags.

I bought a highland Arabic blend and was interested to see how they would roast back here.

Trying to cover up an expensive camera I had bought I decalared my beans to customs....wrong!!!!

"Sorry sir they will have to stay with us as they do not have a permit but thanks for declaring them"

Oh well it was worth a try.

And worth a lesson to my fellow members if they decide to bring beans back sometime

[Andy]

Re: Vietnamese Green beans

Bummer... as I was reading that I was expecting a punchline of how wonderful these rare, exotic imported beans were.

Did drink any good local coffees over there?

..and did you cop duty on the camera too?

[Framey]

Re: Vietnamese Green beans

Im sure they grow many other varieties, but isnt Vietnam the leading supplier of Robusta?
Just wondering if Robusta would be the norm when it comes to roasted and brewed coffee in Vietnam?

[Andy]

Re: Vietnamese Green beans

I too did the mental Viet and Robusta... but David mentioned that he sourced some arabica.

Maybe they drink robusta and only keep the arabica for the tourists?

I wonder how the customs guys were planning on roasting it? With any luck they post their cupping notes in here.

[davwhite]

Re: Vietnamese Green beans

The market I went to had three different types and for the life of me I cant remember their names.

The coffee varied a hell of a lot from hotel to hotel. Saigon had a very strong coffee that I eventually watered down a bit.

As we moved north the coffee got better and eventually in Hanoi it was very enjoyable. Funny how the coffee shops can produce a better coffee than the hotels ;D

I have to admit that with beer between .65c and $1.20 a 500ml bottle I didnt that much coffee :-[

No Andy they missed the camera ;D
And I bought a Tamron 18mm-200mm lens from New York when I got back and had to pay $54.00 on that

[slowpod]

Re: Vietnamese Green beans

Just a thought, you might be able to bring in roasted beans, yes? That way, you could have lightly roasted it overseas, and re-roast it again when you get home. Desperate measure, but better than nothing.

slowp