Viet Specialty Coffee & sourdough Banh Mi
"Adventure in life is good; consistency in coffee even better.” ― Justina Chen Headley
Our coffee beans are Q-grade, handpicked with care and passion by farmers in Vietnam and made with respect to the environment.
Sourdough is not a new concept to traditional Vietnamese bread making. However, we have revisited age-old recipes & techniques and incorporated a modern twist through the infusion of new ingredients and concepts to produce the signature taste of LaSaigon's bread.
My journey with coffee
My educational background is in business marketing and I cut my teeth in the real estate industry However, working as an employee in a large firm I always felt that a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction were missing, and neither did I know much about coffee nor did I drink much coffee back then.
In 2016 I had a chance meeting with a friend who owned coffee farm in Vietnam. What he showed me left a deep impression, becoming a catalyst for my passion in all things coffee. He also asked me a poignant question that resonates with me to this day: how is it that the Italians, French, andAustralians do not grow coffee yet they are renowned for their coffee? And, similarly, why Vietnam,as a major coffee producer, is only associated with “3 in 1” instant mix coffee made with lower qualityRobusta beans
My journey into the the coffee industry began with a single trip to Melbourne in 2015, where I first learnt the art of being a Barista, Green coffee then roasting and Q- grader.
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Since then I have made an effort to visit the coffee farms in Vietnam during harvest season to learn more about the end-to-end process of the coffee supply chain. During those numerous trips I also realised that I could also apply my grading knowledge to help the farmers be more aware of the quality and value of their coffee beans, so they are able to negotiate a better price with their buyers and capture a larger share of the total value - I believe that a contented farmer produces more consistent high quality beans.
If memories define a person, my earliest childhood memories of eating fresh and flavourful Banh Mi on the neighborhood bakery of Saigon are still prominent in my mind and speak to my humble origins. When I discovered coffee I realised that Banh Mi paired exquisitely with the unique flavour profiles of Vietnamese coffee. That struck me like an epiphany, and then I realised there was an opportunity in bringing innovation and modern concepts to the art of into the Vietnamese traditional.Hence the brand "La Saigon" was born.
- Ly Bui -