Vietnam has long been recognized as one of the world’s leading Robusta producers. Yet behind this strength in production volume lies a bigger question: how can Vietnamese Robusta be recognized not simply as a widely used commodity, but as a specialty product with greater quality, identity, and value?
This is the journey that Hao Qiu – Founder of Fair Farm Vietnam and winner of Best of Robusta Gia Lai 2026 – is pursuing in the highlands of Pleiku, Gia Lai.
A German-Vietnamese civil engineer by background, Hao left the construction industry to pursue an entirely different path on a 14-hectare farm. He has applied an engineering mindset to cultivation, from studying soil microbiology and implementing regenerative agriculture to developing a closed-loop farming model designed to improve coffee quality while reducing input costs and environmental impact.
The results go beyond theory. Fair Farm Vietnam recently secured both first and second place at Best of Robusta Gia Lai 2026 – a milestone demonstrating how farming practices and quality control at the source can make a significant difference in the final product.
During the session “The Secrets of True Quality Coffee” at HORECFEX VIETNAM 2026, Hao Qiu will take participants deeper into the often-overlooked factors behind a cup of coffee: soil conditions, plant varieties, cherry ripeness, harvest timing, processing methods, and how each stage directly influences the final flavor.
What makes this story particularly relevant to hospitality is that Hao Qiu does not only approach coffee from the producer’s perspective. Alongside the farm, he also operates a specialty coffee business in Ho Chi Minh City, giving him direct insight into how hotels, restaurants, and F&B brands select, serve, and communicate the story behind their coffee.
A product with transparent origins and clear traceability does more than improve beverage quality. It can also create an additional cultural touchpoint for hotels and restaurants, allowing travelers to understand that the Vietnamese coffee in front of them is connected to a particular place, a specific farming approach, and the people behind its production.
For chefs, baristas, restaurants, hotels, and F&B businesses, the session offers a different way of looking at Vietnamese coffee. Rather than competing primarily on price, Robusta has the potential to move into higher-value segments through quality, transparency, and a compelling story of origin.