vietnameseiced.coffee

The map

A map of Vietnamese coffee

Almost everything written about Vietnamese coffee treats the country as one origin. It is not. Robusta grows on the red basalt of the Central Highlands at 400 to 800 metres; arabica grows 1,200 km away in the northwestern mountains, and on a cool plateau above Đà Lạt. They taste nothing alike.

Select a region to explore altitude, harvest and flavour.

Read the mapRobustaArabicaMixedAlso grows coffeeAltitudes in metres above sea level
About this map

Hoàng Sa (the Paracels) and Trường Sa (the Spratlys) lie further east than this drawing reaches. Each is shown in a dashed panel at its own latitude and at the same scale as the mainland, moved inshore to fit the frame — so the distance to the coast is not to scale, though everything inside a panel is. Island positions come from Natural Earth’s 1:10m dataset; both archipelagos contain more named features than it records.

Province shapes come from geoBoundaries’ public-domain ADM1 dataset, which shows the 63 provinces in place until 1 July 2025. On that date Vietnam reorganised them into 34: Đắk Nông is now part of Lâm Đồng, Kon Tum part of Quảng Ngãi, and Gia Lai, Đắk Lắk and Quảng Trị each absorbed a neighbouring province. The map keeps the older provinces because the figures on this page were reported for them.

Hatched provinces also grow coffee but are not among the main seven. This map shows the areas that most shape what reaches an export bag; it is not a complete inventory of Vietnamese coffee land.

Đắk Lắk
400–800 m · Nov – Jan

Seven regions

Regions at a glance

Altitude, species, harvest window and the flavours each area is commonly described with. Every figure here is sourced at the foot of the page.

Compare

Compare regions

Pick up to three. The clearest way to see how much the two species diverge.

Đắk LắkLâm ĐồngSơn LaRemove one to add another.

Đắk Lắk

Buôn Ma Thuột
Species
Mostly robusta
Altitude
400–800 m
Harvest
Nov – Jan
Planted area
≈ 212,000 haScale: largest province, Đắk Lắk
Commonly described as
Cocoa · Dark chocolate · Roasted nuts · Heavy body

Lâm Đồng

Đà Lạt / Cầu Đất
Species
Arabica above, robusta below
Altitude
700–1,600 m
Harvest
Oct – Dec
Planted area
≈ 176,000 haScale: largest province, Đắk Lắk
Commonly described as
Citrus · Stone fruit · Brown sugar · Bright acidity

Sơn La

Mai Sơn / Thuận Châu
Species
Arabica
Altitude
900–1,200 m
Harvest
Oct – Dec
Planted area
≈ 20,000 haScale: largest province, Đắk Lắk
Commonly described as
Red fruit · Honey · Tea-like · Gentle acidity
View complete comparison — all seven, side by side
Vietnamese coffee regions compared by province, altitude, species, harvest window and typical flavour description.
RegionAltitudeSpeciesHarvestPlanted areaCommonly described as
Đắk LắkBuôn Ma Thuột400–800 mMostly robustaNov – Jan≈ 212,000 haCocoa · Dark chocolate · Roasted nuts · Heavy body
Lâm ĐồngĐà Lạt / Cầu Đất700–1,600 mArabica above, robusta belowOct – Dec≈ 176,000 haCitrus · Stone fruit · Brown sugar · Bright acidity
Gia LaiPleiku500–800 mRobustaNov – Jan≈ 100,000 haDark chocolate · Molasses · Earthy · Full body
Đắk NôngGia Nghĩa600–900 mRobustaNov – Jan≈ 140,000 haCocoa · Toasted grain · Caramel · Smooth finish
Kon TumĐắk Hà550–1,200 mRobusta, some arabicaNov – Jan≈ 30,000 haRoasted nuts · Warm spice · Woody · Medium body
Sơn LaMai Sơn / Thuận Châu900–1,200 mArabicaOct – Dec≈ 20,000 haRed fruit · Honey · Tea-like · Gentle acidity
Quảng TrịKhe Sanh, Hướng Hóa400–700 mArabicaOct – Dec≈ 4,000 haCitrus · Herbal · Light body · Crisp acidity

Timing

One harvest a year

Vietnamese coffee has one flowering season, from late January into May, and one harvest, from October through January depending on species and altitude. There is no second crop.

Full calendar →
Growing area
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Robusta · Central HighlandsĐắk Lắk, Gia Lai, Đắk Nông, Kon Tum
Arabica · Lâm ĐồngĐà Lạt and Cầu Đất
Arabica · Sơn LaNorthwest highlands
Arabica · Quảng TrịKhe Sanh, Hướng Hóa
  • Flowering
  • Cherries developing
  • Harvest

Approximate timing. Harvest windows shift by a few weeks year to year with rainfall and altitude.

Methodology & sources

Where these figures come from

Every figure on this page is sourced. Estimates and commonly used flavour descriptions are identified as such.

How Vietnamese coffee is grown and processed →
  1. 1
    Coffee Annual — Vietnam (GAIN report VM2026-0016) USDA Foreign Agricultural Service · accessed 11 September 2026Used for National production and area figures; robusta 644,000 ha harvested; total coffee area ≈ 730,000 ha; ~30% of area 20 years or older.
  2. 2
    Vietnam Coffee Report: Production Rising for Third Straight Year Daily Coffee News · accessed 11 September 2026Used for MY 2026/27 forecast of 32.5 million 60 kg bags (31.4 robusta, 1.1 arabica); exports and domestic consumption figures.
  3. 3
    Geographical indication protection “Lâm Đồng” for coffee products Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam · accessed 11 September 2026Used for Lâm Đồng GI granted 10 October 2025 covering arabica and robusta; Lâm Đồng coffee area ≈ 175,916 ha with ≈ 16,972 ha arabica (2022).
  4. 4
    geoBoundaries: Viet Nam ADM1 (gbOpen) geoBoundaries, William & Mary geoLab · accessed 6 October 2026Used for Province shapes on the regions map: public domain, boundaries as of 2008 — the 63-province layout in force until July 2025.
  5. 5
    Resolution 202/2025/QH15 on the reorganization of provincial-level administrative divisions National Assembly of Vietnam (English text, LuatVietnam) · accessed 6 October 2026Used for From 1 July 2025, 63 provincial units became 34: Đắk Nông merged into Lâm Đồng, Kon Tum into Quảng Ngãi, Bình Định into Gia Lai, Phú Yên into Đắk Lắk, Quảng Bình into Quảng Trị; Sơn La unchanged.