HuyEco Coffee Production Story 2024–2025: A Season of Change and Commitment

Wednesday - 21/05/2025 10:24

From price volatility to climate disruption, HuyEco stayed committed to quality and sustainability. Discover our 2024–2025 coffee journey—from farm to cup.

Bài tiếng Việt đã có sẵn tại đây: Hành Trình Cà Phê HuyEco 2024–2025: Biến Động, Lựa Chọn và Cam Kết | HuyEco.vn

HuyEco Coffee Production Story 2024–2025

From a year of uncertainty to a harvest of resilience

A volatile year for coffee—and the choices it demanded

The global coffee industry has just weathered another turbulent year. With prices soaring for a second consecutive season, many farmers abandoned sustainable practices in favor of short-term survival. The fear of crop theft and unpredictable weather pushed some to harvest early—green cherries destined for instant coffee—rather than wait for full ripeness.

At HuyEco, we chose a different path: to stay committed to quality, sustainability, and the people behind every bean.

Fully ripe coffee cherries sun-drying on raised beds at HuyEco Farm. — *Handpicked ripe coffee cherries drying naturally on raised beds at HuyEco Farm. This Natural process preserves the fruit’s original flavor and reflects our commitment to sustainable farming.*

Coffee prices: high stakes, hard decisions

In 2023, post-COVID, low-grade coffee was still trading at around 35,000 VND/kg. But prices quickly surged past 120,000 VND/kg—and by early 2025, even commercial-grade coffee remained above 130,000 VND/kg.

This price volatility reshaped relationships across the supply chain. For many farmers, the risk of theft and market uncertainty made it difficult to justify the extra effort required for specialty-grade cherries. Even with higher prices, sourcing ripe, high-quality fruit became increasingly difficult.

Chart showing the global coffee price increase trend from 2023 to 2025. — Global coffee prices have surged over the past two years, driven by climate disruptions, supply chain shifts, and changing consumer behavior. This is the challenging backdrop in which HuyEco Farm continues to uphold quality and sustainability.

Local farmers weighing commercial-grade coffee cherries with uneven ripeness — Photo from a neighboring farm, illustrating how price volatility leads many farmers to sell commercial-grade coffee instead of investing in higher-quality production. Harvesting ripe cherries and applying sustainable methods require significant effort, while market uncertainty makes such investments risky. This is a pragmatic choice in an unpredictable environment.

Climate change: when rain and drought arrive together

This year, climate change made itself felt in every corner of the farm. Prolonged droughts led to water shortages and tree loss, while unseasonal rains triggered early flowering—often before irrigation could be applied—causing widespread blossom drop.

At the same time, heavy rains during harvest made drying and fermentation more challenging than ever. Producing high-quality coffee under these conditions required not just skill, but patience and adaptability.

Coffee flowers blooming in the rain while other cherries are ripening, due to climate change effects — Coffee flowers blooming out of season during rainfall, while ripe cherries remain on the branches. This illustrates the biological disruption caused by climate change, making coffee growth cycles increasingly unpredictable.

Our processing approach: adapting with care

For Robusta, we focused on Natural processing:

100% ripe cherry selection
Whole-fruit anaerobic fermentation (sealed for ~4 days)
Sun-drying on raised beds
Careful hulling and hand-sorting to remove defects

This method enhances fruity notes and body—bringing out the best in Robusta, even in a tough year.

Farmers hand-harvesting Robusta coffee cherries in the field, selecting ripe fruit. — Robusta coffee harvesting in the local region, where farmers hand-pick ripe cherries to ensure quality. Selective harvesting is key to producing specialty coffee, though it requires significant labor and commitment—especially amid price volatility and unpredictable weather.

Sorting harvested Robusta coffee cherries into ripe and unripe groups. — Post-harvest sorting of Robusta coffee cherries to separate ripe from unripe fruit. This step is essential in specialty coffee processing, ensuring consistent flavor and minimizing defects during fermentation and roasting.

Robusta coffee cherries being drained on raised beds after removing dry and defective fruit, before sorting out unripe cherries — After removing dry and defective cherries, Robusta coffee is drained on raised beds before continuing with the sorting of unripe fruit. This intermediate step ensures that only qualified cherries enter the processing stage, improving overall bean quality and batch consistency.

Whole Robusta coffee cherries undergoing anaerobic fermentation in sealed tanks to develop subtle fruity notes — After sorting, whole Robusta cherries are placed in sealed containers for anaerobic fermentation. This method enhances fruity aromas and adds complexity to the cup—marking a new chapter in elevating the potential of Robusta coffee.

For Arabica, thanks to our partner farmers’ dedication to organic practices, we received cherries with 99% ripeness. This allowed us to process efficiently and confidently using the Honey method, which retains the mucilage for added sweetness and complexity—without the need for water fermentation, which can acidify the soil.

Depulped Arabica coffee cherries after whole-fruit fermentation in sealed tanks or bags — Following whole-fruit fermentation in sealed tanks or bags, Arabica cherries are depulped to remove the outer skin. This method preserves natural sweetness and enhances flavor complexity—laying the foundation for a rich and nuanced cup.

Freshly depulped Arabica coffee beans exiting the machine during the honey processing stage. — Arabica beans flowing out of the depulping machine after whole-fruit fermentation. This marks the start of the honey process, where the sticky mucilage is intentionally retained to enhance sweetness and complexity in the final cup.

Honey-processed Arabica coffee beans drying on raised beds, with sticky mucilage still clinging to the surface — After depulping, honey-processed Arabica beans are sun-dried on raised beds. The sticky, sugary mucilage remains on the beans—giving the process its name and contributing to the coffee’s signature sweetness and complexity.

Commercial coffee: staying flexible, staying fair

With prices fluctuating throughout 2024, we couldn’t rely on a single strategy. We partnered with local suppliers to source high-ripeness commercial coffee at fair prices—ensuring continuity without compromising our values.

We hope 2025 brings more stability, so both farmers and producers can plan with confidence.

High-quality commercial coffee harvested locally with a high percentage of ripe cherries. — Photo of high-quality commercial coffee harvested by local farmers, featuring a high ripeness rate. While not processed as specialty coffee, such lots still play a valuable role in the coffee value chain—especially when ripeness and basic post-harvest care are prioritized.

Coffee harvesting process at a neighboring farm near HuyEco. — Photo from a neighboring coffee farm near HuyEco, capturing the local harvesting process. Each household has its own approach and conditions, reflecting the diversity of coffee production methods today—from commercial to specialty, from traditional to innovative.

Looking ahead: replanting, rebuilding, and reaching out

We’re seeking high-quality Robusta and Arrabica varieties for grafting—to improve consistency and flavor.
We invite early orders and long-term partnerships. Visit us, ask questions, and challenge us—we’ll do our best to meet your expectations.

Beyond the farm: experience HuyEco in Dalat

Want to taste the story behind the bean? Visit HuyEco Café in Dalat—a space where you can enjoy our coffee, meet the people behind it, and learn about regenerative farming in a cup.

Or join our eco coffee tour to see the process firsthand—from cherry to drying bed to brew.

📍 Book a tour
📍 Visit HuyEco Café

📎 Internal links:

Order HuyEco Coffee
→ Explore and order HuyEco’s original coffee selections.
Eco Coffee Tour
→ Discover our farm tour experience—from cherry to cup.
About HuyEco Farm
→ Learn about our story, values, and the people behind HuyEco.
Why Choose Organic Coffee?
→ A blog post explaining the benefits of organic coffee.

🌐 External links

ICO Coffee Market Reports
→ Global coffee price updates from the International Coffee Organization.
Specialty Coffee Association
→ Industry standards and resources for specialty coffee professionals.
Rainforest Alliance – Climate & Coffee
→ Insights into how climate change is affecting coffee production.
FAO – Coffee & Sustainable Agriculture
→ FAO’s resources on sustainable coffee farming practices.
Perfect Daily Grind – Coffee Processing Methods
→ In-depth articles on global coffee processing techniques.

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In case you want to use the materials for non-profit community purposes, please contact the author at email address: huyeco1125@gmail.com
Sincerely