Exploring Bolaven’s Coffee Legacy: A Journey to Lak 40 Café in Laos

Discovering Lak 40 Café – By Chance or Fate?

Laos has been growing coffee since 1920, but its roots go even further back—to the French colonial era. When the French introduced coffee here, they realized the Bolaven Plateau, with its high altitude, volcanic soil, and cool climate, was ideal for cultivation.

This plateau became the heart of Lao coffee production. Even today, century-old coffee trees stand as quiet witnesses to the past, reminding us of an era when sustainability wasn’t a trend—it was simply how farming was done.

At Lak 40, I saw these towering trees and wondered:
"Wouldn’t replanting new trees improve yields, like in Vietnam?"

But as I wandered through the farm, observing their careful approach to cultivation, I realized sustainability can take many forms. Their method may not maximize short-term productivity, but it preserves history, soil quality, and local knowledge—a philosophy that deeply resonates with what we do at HuyEco.
 

Lak 40 Café – A Living Lesson for HuyEco’s Coffee Model

Lak 40 is officially known as the Bolaven Coffee Cooperative. It operates as a network of smallholder farmers, working together to bring their coffee to the world.

This cooperative model is something we strongly believe in at HuyEco, where we work alongside farmers to create coffee that is not only high-quality but deeply connected to local ecosystems and communities.

More than just a café, Lak 40 represents the balance between tradition and adaptation—a lesson that directly influences how I shape HuyEco’s coffee tours and sustainable farming practices.
 

A Farm Design Rooted in Experience

The farm’s circular layout makes exploration effortless. Thoughtful signboards introduce guests to various crops:

• Tea trees
• Lemon trees
• Macadamia trees
• Coffee plants
• Compost station
• Coffee processing area

These details make the visit educational and immersive, elements I prioritize when designing coffee tours at HuyEco—ensuring guests not only enjoy the experience but leave with a deeper understanding of sustainable coffee farming.

Coffee Cultivation – Echoing the Values of HuyEco

Lak 40’s farmers follow a practice different from Vietnam. Instead of pruning and replacing old trees, they allow new shoots to grow, maintaining coffee trees over generations. They harvest with long sticks, pulling branches down rather than cutting them.

While Vietnam’s approach maximizes yield, Lak 40’s method preserves the essence of coffee farming. This journey reaffirmed my belief that sustainability isn’t just about organic certification—it’s about respect for nature and heritage.

At HuyEco, we also focus on sustainable cultivation, ensuring our coffee comes from farms that prioritize long-term environmental balance. Our goal is to merge tradition with innovation, just as I saw at Lak 40.
 

From Farm to Market – Lessons in Coffee Tourism

Lak 40 benefits from its strategic location near popular waterfalls like Tad Fane, making it an ideal stop for travelers.

But what impressed me most was how they crafted their visitor experience—showcasing coffee beans in a way that helps tourists understand its lifecycle. This insight has influenced how I design coffee tours at HuyEco, ensuring visitors feel connected to the coffee they drink, from soil to cup.

Their approach strengthened my belief that coffee tourism isn’t just about selling coffee—it’s about storytelling. At HuyEco, we emphasize this in every tour, ensuring guests experience coffee as a journey, not just a product.
 

Final Thoughts – A Journey that Shapes the Future

Lak 40 Café is more than just a coffee farm—it’s a place of learning, a reminder of how tradition and sustainability shape the future of coffee.

This journey has inspired me to bring elements of Lak 40’s farming philosophy into HuyEco’s sustainable coffee model, making sure every bean we produce carries both history and responsibility.

Thank you for reading, and I invite you to join me at HuyEco, where we continue to explore the future of sustainable coffee!

Best regards,
Huy