Buon Ma Thuot, located in Dak Lak province, the Central Highlands of Vietnam, is a city indispensable when discussing Vietnamese coffee, also known as the "Capital of Coffee." Its symbolic presence is the Coffee Museum area (commonly known as "Coffee Village"), which houses a museum, exhibition facilities, and cafe spaces within a vast complex.

Here, you can experience the city of Ban Mê Thuột as both a "producing region" and a "cultural hub," with exhibits introducing the history and culture of coffee, as well as the opportunity to taste coffee that has been roasted and brewed on-site.

Places where you can learn about the history and culture of coffee

As soon as you step into the museum building, the first things you'll see are coffee-making equipment from around the world and exhibits related to coffee production in various regions of Vietnam. The origin of the coffee tree, the history of coffee's introduction to Vietnam, and scenes from French colonial plantations are explained through photographs, models, and explanatory panels.

Real tools from the production site, such as roasters, sample roasters, old agricultural tools, and harvesting baskets, are also on display, allowing you to visually follow the “from bean to cup” process. There are also sections that touch on the rise of specialty coffee and sustainability initiatives, making the exhibition not just a "tale of the past," but also allows you to feel the "current state" of Vietnamese coffee as it is changing right now.

Enjoy Coffee While Drinking: A Museum

The charm of this area is that "learning" and "drinking" are combined. There are several cafe spaces within the building and on the premises, allowing you to actually taste the coffee in a cup while keeping in mind the explanations about the beans and origins you saw at the museum.

We offer a wide variety of options, from traditional Vietnamese coffee made with dark-roasted Robusta to single-origin light-roasted Arabica, as well as blended drinks with milk or coconut. It's interesting how learning about the "history" and "origin" through the exhibition and then experiencing the "aroma" and "taste" at the cafe can change your perception of the same cup of coffee.

The whole town is made of "coffee."

As you walk through the coffee museum area in Banmethot, there are several scenes that make you feel, "The everyday scenery itself is connected to coffee here." Among them, the city's manhole covers were particularly impressive.

If you look closely at the road, you'll see that the manhole covers are designed with motifs of coffee beans and flowers, quietly telling you, "The identity of this city is coffee." Around the museum, well-maintained residential areas and parks spread out, showing that while it is the "center of the coffee industry," it is also developing into a comfortable living space for people.

The entire area, including the placement of streetlights, signs, and roadside trees, is designed like a single "coffee theme park," adding visual enjoyment to the experience of "visiting the origin."

Who made this place?

Ban Me Thuot is also home to one of Vietnam's largest coffee companies, and the development and operation of the coffee museum area have been promoted through a collaboration between such companies and the local government. The intention to enhance the brand value of Vietnamese coffee by connecting the history and culture of the production region not just as "exhibits," but visually linking them to the coffee poured into cups, can be felt in the details of the buildings and displays.

The coffee from Lam Dong province that we handle daily is also within this flow of "creating a brand for all of Vietnam." Visiting the Coffee Museum in Buon Ma Thuot allows us to re-experience the history and scale of Vietnamese coffee, while also making us think about "what we can deliver to everyone in Japan as a part of it."

Reasons to visit Ban Meto

As a producing region, Ban Me Thuot offers plenty to see just by visiting coffee farms and processing plants, but by also touring the coffee museum area, you can see how "production," "history," "culture," and "daily life" are all connected in a single thread. From a single manhole cover, a cup of coffee at a cafe, to each individual exhibit in the museum – everything seems to convey the message that "this city thrives on coffee."

The Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Museum is a must-visit for coffee lovers, as well as for those who want to feel the "present-day Vietnam." On our Coffee page, we aim to unravel the profundity of Vietnamese coffee little by little, while conveying the atmosphere of its origin.