Vietnamese Dalat Highlands Robusta (non-peaberry)

Vietnamese Robusta is the secret ingredient in Italian espresso. Its lush body, chocolatey taste, and excellent aftertaste are a product of the rich soil in Vietnam, and the fact that they are able to sun-dry the coffee cherries, which develops Robusta's natural sweetness. This highland Robusta is extremely high-quality and hand graded, and has the smoothest taste profile of any Robusta we have ever tried. Due to its freshness it has notes of maple sugar and butter.

Why Robusta? Coffee drinkers are evenly divided between "front palate" people and "back palate" people. We find that people who respond well to Vietnamese coffees in general tend to be "back palate" people, and Robusta excites primarily the back of the palate. In particular, Vietnamese high-altitude Robusta has developed indigenously to be almost its own subspecies, and the gourmet Robusta from this region is exceptionally delicious, quite unlike the low-altitude versions and Brazilian Robusta.

1 lb (16 oz) bag roasted coffee, select Medium Roast or Harlequin Roast (2-temperature base of dark with lesser amount of Light) and ground or whole bean. High in caffeine.