Farmers are the ones who ultimately determine whether coffee quality is good or bad. However, because they have not fully mastered proper harvesting techniques and post-harvest processing steps, the quality of Vietnamese coffee has remained consistently low for many years.
In recent years, customers have most frequently complained about the poor quality of Vietnamese coffee. This was especially true in the 2008–2009 harvest, when coffee quality declined sharply due to unfavorable weather: heavy rains throughout the harvest season made proper processing difficult. Statistics show that the total number of defects rose sharply—particularly black, brown, and moldy beans. In Đắk Lắk province, the average number of defects per 300 g sample of green coffee reached 375, which is 2.35 times higher than in the 2007–2008 season.
Low coffee quality stems from many factors: harvesting green or immature cherries; prolonged wet weather causing farmers to heap cherries for long periods; and inadequate investment in processing technology. Most coffee farmers in Vietnam use the dry processing method (harvesting the whole cherries and sun-drying them before hulling), which does not require strict control over cherry ripeness. While a higher proportion of ripe cherries is preferable, farmers often accept a mix of green, overripe, dried, or even fallen cherries, sometimes harvesting entire clusters at once. In the Central Highlands, the main steps in harvesting coffee are picking the cherries, transporting them to the processing site, and storing them before drying. Of these, the two most critical to final quality are harvesting and storing the fresh cherries.
Typically, farmers harvest in two or three rounds per season. On average, the harvested mix consists of about 51.6% ripe cherries, 32.4% green cherries, 9.2% overripe cherries, and 4.5% dried cherries. Farmers harvest in several rounds partly to prevent theft, to save labor, and—especially for many Catholic growers—to finish before Christmas and New Year holidays.
Storing freshly picked cherries before drying is also common. On average, Đắk Lắk farmers keep fresh cherries in bags or heaped piles for six to seven days; some households store them for over ten days. This happens because they lack enough drying yard space during the peak harvest, face labor shortages, or believe that heaping softens the cherry skin so it dries faster and is easier to hull later. But farmers often do not realize that prolonged heaping seriously harms coffee quality, particularly when green or immature cherries are mixed in. After heaping, the rate of black and brown beans rises significantly. According to Vietnam’s TCVN 4193 standard, an immature (green) bean counts as 0.2 defect points, but a black bean counts as 1 point—five times higher. Immature beans that turn black during heaping increase defect scores by about 49.4 points per 300 g sample; an additional 3.4% of beans turn brown through fermentation, adding about 19 more defect points.
In dry processing, the drying yard is critical. It is estimated that one hectare of coffee requires about 99 m² of drying yard. Currently, drying coffee on bare earth is widespread: about 66% of households dry on bare ground, 16.5% do so exclusively, and the rest combine bare earth with cement, brick, or tarpaulin surfaces. Only about 20% dry entirely on cement yards, and a mere 0.2% use mechanical dryers. Farmers say drying on bare earth drains rainwater well. However, this method imparts a dirty or earthy taste to the final cup.
Drying practices also vary: about 44% of households dry whole cherries, 40% combine whole-cherry drying with partial pulping, and roughly 4% pulp completely before drying. Pulping before drying shortens drying time but can downgrade quality if it rains. Furthermore, most farmers do not follow technical guidelines for drying. Best practice is to reduce coffee moisture as quickly as possible by raking and turning the beans frequently. In reality, farmers typically rake only once or twice per day and increase raking to four or five times only when the coffee is nearly dry—the opposite of recommended practice. This mistake leads to higher mold contamination during the initial drying stage.
These facts show that although farmers—who manage over 80% of Vietnam’s coffee acreage—are the key to coffee quality, their lack of proper harvesting and post-harvest techniques has kept Vietnamese coffee quality low for many years. It is time for a genuine overhaul in harvesting and processing practices, beginning first and foremost with the farmers themselves.