Vietnam Ea Tân Black Honey

The Ea Tan Cooperative are based in Đắk Lắk, an inland province of Vietnam amongst the central highland area. Vietnam is the worlds second largest coffee grower and the vast majority of that is Robusta. Ea Tan have been farming since 1990 when the government suggested this would be a good way for them to improve their income. The main cultivars selected were TR4 and TR9, part of 11 cultivars created by The Western Highlands Agro-Forestry Scientific and Technical Institute (WASI) as these exhibited good disease resistance with high productivity. The area itself is one of the higher altitudes for growing Robusta, and as a result coffee will ripen on average 30-40 days later than the rest of the country, and the resulting sugar content of the fruit is higher.

Starting out like many focussing on yield, since doing the Simexco Sustainability Program in 2009 they have turned their attention both the quality of the bean they grow and the environment it is grown in. This lead to the engagement of the group with more specialised processing methods and development of honey, natural, washed and semi washed processes.

Since 2013 the group have further focussed on the cooperative structure, and synchronising their farming practises and processing to reduce costs. The relatively small area (3-4ha) under each household means relative processing costs are expensive, but by synchronising in this way the processes are better streamlined.

Fruit trees such as avocados and durians have been planted to provide a secondary income and create a more sustainable landscape. Mulching is favoured over the use of herbicides and the co-op is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They have become Rainforest Alliance, Utz, and Fairtrade certified in recognition of this move.