In recent years, when farmers in Vietnam’s Central Highlands talk about high-yield coffee varieties, they often mention the Trường Sơn hybrid. In many areas, the Trường Sơn coffee cultivar already accounts for about 50% of all grafted coffee acreage.
During an early February visit to Lâm Đồng Province, we met Mr. Phan Văn Sơn—one of the two brothers behind this success (his brother is Mr. Phan Văn Trường). He explained:
“My brother and I founded the Trường Sơn nursery in 2003 with the goal of providing farmers with coffee plants that deliver high yields, produce large fruit clusters and beans, resist pests and diseases, and maintain stable productivity. Most importantly, the beans must satisfy buyers with both appearance and cup quality.”
Sơn recalled that when they first began coffee farming, yields were disappointingly low despite careful investment and intensive care.
After several years without improvement, the brothers began studying scientific literature and consulting experienced coffee growers. Whenever they heard of a good variety, they would seek it out. By 1992 they were graft-testing many types in their own fields. Early on they found a few promising ones, but as soon as friends introduced even better candidates, they boldly cut down their existing trees to trial the new selections.
“The hardest part,” Sơn said, “was that some varieties met certain criteria but failed others. So we kept searching.”
After six years of experimentation, by 1998 they had identified three outstanding cultivars: TS1, TS3 and TS4, with TS1 proving the highest-yielding. A mature TS1 tree can produce up to 80 kg of fresh cherries. TS3 and TS4 also deliver nearly the same yield, with large, uniform fruit clusters, strong vigor, high and stable productivity, and excellent fruit set with minimal pest problems.
Recognized Quality
All three varieties meet the Vietnam Coffee Association’s standards:
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Large, uniform beans—over 90% retained on screen 16 (Vietnam R2 grade: 13% moisture, 1% foreign matter, 5% black/broken beans).
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TS4 even exceeds 92% on screen 18 (the country’s highest grading screen).
When harvested, virtually only cracked cherries fail the screen; the rest are full-size beans.
From Trials to Commercial Production
After proving the three cultivars in their own fields, the brothers shared plant material with relatives and friends and grafted the varieties onto 15 ha of seedling coffee. Grafted plants began bearing after just one year:
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First harvests: 1.5–2.5 tons/ha.
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By the third season: 7–10 tons/ha.
The brothers were even happier to see that these varieties remained largely pest-free, required little care, and adapted well to different climates, while also reducing harvest labor.
Ripening times are slightly staggered and very uniform:
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TS3: Oct 25–Nov 5 (thin parchment; 3.5–3.7 kg fresh cherries = 1 kg green beans; beans graded screen 16–18).
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TS1: Nov 20–25 (thicker parchment; 4.1–4.2 kg fresh = 1 kg green beans; screen 16).
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TS4: Dec 5–10 (similar standards to TS3).
Large-Scale Supply
To meet growing demand, in May 2004 the brothers began producing seedlings commercially and now supply about 500,000 plants per year.
On October 14, 2006, the Lâm Đồng Provincial Department of Agriculture & Rural Development officially certified the Trường Sơn high-yield coffee varieties for commercial distribution. Today, across the Central Highlands and neighboring provinces such as Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu and Bình Dương, Trường Sơn cultivars already account for over half of all grafted coffee acreage.