CELEBRATING COFFEE: A “coffee forest” decorated with 100 trees of different coffee varieties in Việt Nam will be set up at the Coffeerary Exhibition which will be held at the Independence Palace in HCM City on December 17-18. — Photo courtesy of Coffeerary

HCM CITY — An exhibition providing a platform for coffee lovers to network and explore more about Vietnamese coffee will take place at the Independence Palace in HCM City on December 17-18.

The Coffeerary Exhibition will feature the presence of major Vietnamese and international coffee brands, as well as coffee machine and accessories brands.

In particular, there will be stalls introducing green products from coffee farms of ethnic minority groups in the country such as the Oh Mi Ko Ho farm of the K’Ho people in Lâm Đồng’s Di Linh District.

Trang Dương, deputy director of Coffeerary, the event’s organiser, said at the press conference on Wednesday afternoon: “We also expect to have participants from top countries in coffee production such as Colombia, Indonesia and Thailand, and in coffee consumption such as the US, the UK and France at the exhibition.”

The exhibition will set up a “coffee forest” decorated with 100 trees of different coffee varieties in Việt Nam to offer people knowledge about the country’s coffee.

There will be a stall for participants to exchange old books about coffee as part of the “One Book One Coffee” project to build bookcases for children and young people in remote and isolated areas.

Participants will also have a chance to meet and share with Miss Peace Vietnam 2022 Trần Thị Ban Mai, the ambassador of the “One Book One Coffee” project, during the exhibition.

The organiser will host professional competitions for at-home baristas, including Coffeerary Home Espresso 2022 for those who are passionate about crafting espresso at home, and Coffeerary Home Brewing 2022 for those who are passionate about crafting coffee using the pour over method at home.

The preliminary rounds will be held online until November 30. The judges will choose the eight best competitors for the final rounds taking place on December 17 at Independence Palace.

Trang said: “After the pandemic, we have seen the rise of home craft coffee culture. More and more people love to make coffee at home, so we decided to choose “Home Coffee” as the theme of the exhibition with the aim of creating a playground for coffee drinkers at home to meet and share their love of coffee, and for people to learn more about the manual coffee-making experience.”

The exhibition will open to the public for free and is expected to attract 3,000-5,000 visitors a day. — VNS