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Updated on Dec 28, 2025
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Mew Roastery – Rewriting Vietnam’s Coffee Story, One Light Roast at a Time
Mention Vietnamese coffee to most people, and they’ll picture one thing: a dark roast, dripping slowly through a phin filter onto sweetened condensed milk. It’s iconic, it’s delicious, and it’s deeply embedded in the culture.
But what if Vietnamese coffee could be something else entirely?
That’s the question a young team asked themselves when they opened Mew Roastery in 2021, right in the middle of the pandemic. While the world was shutting down, they were opening up a conversation about what Vietnamese coffee could become: lighter roasts, Fine Robusta, locally-grown Arabica, and a focus on terroir and processing.
Cafe and Roastery in Dalat
Finding Mew feels intentional. It’s not in the center of Da Lat, but in a quiet residential neighborhood without much foot traffic. Everything is carefuly designed and composed, with the coffee bar as the focal point. Brewing devices are displayed like art objects, next to a wall of fame showcasing several won prices, next to bags of coffee. The atmosphere is deliberately peaceful and feels communal at the same time. The philosophy, as they describe it, is “a space to enjoy coffee, not just a coffee shop”.
They roast in-house in micro-batches. “In Vietnam, pour over and cold brew are still a new way to brew coffee for the Vietnamese.” the roaster told me. “Vietnamese like milk and condensed milk their coffee, you know. We want to introduce Vietnamese people to Arabica coffee that is a little more sour than what they are used to,” she goes on to explain.
The challenge is real. Vietnamese coffee drinkers are accustomed to dark roasts that can stand up to sweet milk. The bitterness is expected, even desired. Suggesting they try a light-roasted Arabica with delicate fruit notes and bright acidity? That’s asking them to trust that “a little sour” isn’t a flaw but a feature. “We might have taken the hard way, but that’s the way we want to go.”
While Mew are introducing Vietnamese coffee drinkers to light-roast Arabica, they’re not abandoning Robusta, they’re elevating it. Their flagship product is Fine Robusta sourced from Dak Lak Province at around 850 meters elevation. It’s a way of honoring Vietnam’s coffee heritage while demanding it meet higher standards.
Discover Coffee From Mew Roastery
Direct Relationships and Farm Transparency
“Do you have direct relationships with the farms?” I asked the roaster. “Yes. All of them”, she replied.
Mew visit farms especially during harvest season. They test the quality on-site and work with farmers on processing experiments. Mew is also interested in discovering new varietals that most Vietnamese consumers have never heard of. These experimental varieties are still in their early stages. Vietnamese farmers are beginning to plant trees that could, given the right conditions and care, produce genuinely world-class Arabica. Mew is positioning themselves as the roastery that will introduce these coffees to the market, creating demand that will sustain these experimental farms.
Recently, Mew expanded with a second location in Ho Chi Minh, bringing their mission to the big city.
Address Dalat: 35A Đường Võ Trường Toản, Phường 8, Đà Lạt, Lâm Đồng
Address Saigon: 47/25 Trần Quốc Toản P8, Quận 3
