Turning coffee husks into premium tea for export

Representative of Viet Thao Nhien Company (middle) introduces Cascara tea to customers

FIRST CASCARA TEA TRIP TO JAPAN

At the end of May, Viet Thao Nhien Company Limited (Loc Son Industrial Park, B'Lao Ward, Lam Dong Province) exported the first batch of tea bags made from coffee husks to Japan. This is the first Vietnamese enterprise to conquer this demanding market, marking an important milestone in the journey to increase the value of a previously unknown Vietnamese agricultural raw material.

Cascara tea is produced from the red ripe Arabica coffee bean husks, purchased from sustainable coffee growing areas in the province. The coffee bean husks are separated when they are still fresh, fermented, then dried and packaged in filter bags. This is the first shipment in a 5-year contract that Viet Thao Nhien Company signed with a Japanese partner to bring Cascara tea products to the supermarket system in the land of the rising sun. This shipment is packaged in a 2-ton container with traditional Cascara tea flavors, orange cinnamon, ginger, mint (original).

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - Director of Viet Thao Nhien Company Limited, said: "We own a modern, fully automated factory system that meets international standards; at the same time, we are collaborating to build high-quality coffee material areas in specialized coffee growing areas in Lam Dong province that are certified by Rainforest Alliance, USDA".

Previously, coffee husks were a by-product of the coffee bean processing process, often discarded or used as fertilizer. After a period of research and testing, Viet Thao Nhien has successfully produced Cascara tea made from coffee husks that meet international standards for export to the Japanese market, which is very demanding and has a high selling price.

OPPORTUNITY TO REACH FAR

According to Allied Market Research’s 2024 report, the global market for Cascara products is expected to reach $1.2 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of more than 18%. Among these, coffee by-product product lines – such as ready-to-drink Cascara, functional food powders and bio-cosmetics – are considered key segments driving the sustainable coffee value chain.

Mr. Hoang Bao Nguyen - Chairman of B'Lao Ward People's Committee, said: Cascara tea products of Viet Thao Nhien Company exported to the Japanese market are not only the pride of the enterprise but also of the locality. This is a typical model of innovation in the field of agriculture and deep processing industry. The local government will continue to accompany the enterprise to best promote the available potentials and strengths such as tea, coffee, silk, etc.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan expressed: “At first, no one believed that coffee husks could be drunk - including coffee growers. Moreover, we made 50 samples and sent them to 12 countries, but only 2 places responded. Now, the product has been trusted by the Japanese, showing the value of this drink. Currently, we are completing 2 more shipments to export to Japan and the United States this July.”

According to Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, along with Cascara tea bags, in the near future, the Company will continue to export other products from coffee husks to the Japanese market such as bottled Cascara juice, Cascara ground powder and Cascara extract powder. These are products that the Japanese partner has signed a contract for application in kombucha drinks, food and high-end cosmetics production.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/bien-vo-ca-phe-thanh-tra-hao-hang-xuat-khau-381675.html