Laos Grown
September 10th, 2008
Laos Coffee, Black
Vientiane, Laos - No, I’m not referring to the stuff tuk tuk drivers try to sell you late at night on the streets of Vientiane. I’m talking about coffee beans. About 5-10 years ago, I’m told, Laos imported its coffee from Thailand and other places. Even though the French introduced coffee plants in the 1920s, frost, disease and war ravaged the local industry. Today beans are homegrown, mostly Arabica and Robusta from Paksong in the south, and proudly served as “Lao coffee” across the country. The strong brew is taken with condensed milk and sugar, and though I typically take my coffee black, this was much too strong for me. Like Beerlao and lao lao (a distilled rice spirit also known as lao whiskey), when it comes to coffee Lao prefer to consume quality products made by their fellow citizens, instead of looking to the outside world. In fact, you may be hard-pressed to find imported coffee in most stores.
No Responses to “Laos Grown”