- Home
- Home Roasting
- Single-Origin Unroasted Coffees
- Vietnamese Buon Me Thuot Excelsa, green unroasted
Vietnamese Buon Me Thuot Excelsa, green unroasted
Excelsa is one of the four remaining genetically distinct commercial species of coffee and accounts for about 6% of world coffee production. It is used in Vietnam as a blending coffee, being added to other varieties of coffee to add complexity and depth. It's a vital ingredient in Trung Nguyen's blended coffees, including the famous Gourmet Blend, Buon Me Thuot Special, and Creative Four.
Our Excelsa was grown on one of Indochine Estates' coffee farms in the Dalat Highlands area of Vietnam. They have been processed by the traditional sun-drying method made possible by Vietnam's reliably long, hot summer.
These beans come to us in a very natural state. We sift through the coffee by hand, visually inspecting every lot to remove broken beans and small bits of dried coffee fruit, which are a result of the drying process and the beans' non-uniform size. Excelsa itself has a highly variable fruit, producing seeds of all shapes and sizes, as you can see in the image. This is part of its unique character.
Excelsa has a distinctive tart, fruity, dark, mysterious taste. In blends, it enhances the middle and back palate and lingering finish of the coffee, giving the cup more substance and power. Brewed on its own, it is a compelling and unique coffee experience, like a good Scotch. Green unroasted coffee beans for home or commercial roaster.
Please choose 1 pound or 3 pounds green unroasted beans, both sizes on sale.
Customer Reviews
-
A Rare Treat!
I didn't know what to expect. This first experience with Excelsa was truly enjoyable. I roasted to my Medium around 211°C to preserve what I might (rather than going too dark).
Fragrance was soft like cookies. Aroma rich-lush like the long lasting aftertaste of sweet tobacco. No acidity and super mouth coating body. It did have a "Tangy" aspect as described. Well said! Great Adventure and always satisfied with Lens Coffee!
Will serve my SCA students and online training very well!Posted by Adam Carpenter on Aug 27th 2021
-
Good for blending
I used this with sumatra and it was a delightful blend full of flavor . It was very good as well on its own as a single source either way it is a great bean.
Posted by Whoop chicken expeditions on May 20th 2021
-
Number 1
The main purpose of this coffee, for me, was for blending. It works really good for a custom house blend. However, as a single source it is the best. An amazing dark, rich, "thick," flavor rests with you. An avid (pressure cooker in canning jars, never going back) cowboy coffee drinker will note the same fascinating, effervescent taste, of any errant grains, that is in the smell of this roasting coffee.
Posted by Nathanael Rhodes on Feb 12th 2019
-
A marvelous coffee
I have roasted and served this Vietnamese Excelsa as a single origin coffee and it's fabulous. I enjoy the bite and the strong flavors in the center and back of the tongue. However, my favorite way to roast/serve this is in a 50%/50% blend with Sumatra. They balance each other so well that this has become my signature blend, a truly unique coffee that has everyone raving.
Posted by Zan Raynor on May 11th 2017
Latest Blog Post

Get to know our Brazil Microlots!
These volcanic soil coffees are delicious and diverse... Read more...
Resources
Featured Region

The Araku Valley of India
India's coffee tradition goes back 400 years or more, when a variety called Kent was first established in the Southern Hills. Arabicas predominated until the blight of 1870, when growers needed to hybridize to resistant varieties. The resultant strains had genes from Liberica and other unique, resistant species. Learn more and browse India's Araku Valley coffees here.