VIETNAM ZANYA

Tastes Like: Maple, Umeboshi (a sweet-tart Japanese plum), Port Wine

Why I'm Obsessed: Specialty coffee from Vietnam is a rare and special thing. You probably know Vietnamese coffee as the bold iced drink made with sweetened condensed milk. This is not that. Vietnam produces more coffee than almost anywhere on Earth, but nearly all of it is Robusta - great for volume, bad for flavor. Zanya is something totally different. Founded by Marián, originally from Slovakia, and Lim, who returned to her hometown in the Langbiang Mountains, this small producer is part of a quiet Arabica revolution happening in Vietnam's Central Highlands.

Zanya really highlights what’s distinctive about Vietnamese specialty coffee. This is a smooth, thick-bodied cup, syrupy even as a filter brew, rich in a dark-chocolate-caramel way that coats your mouth and lingers. The umeboshi note is the star: think plum wine, that perfect balance of sweet and crisp. A toasty dark maple syrup note anchors it underneath, and the finish is all toasted sugars and dark red fruit, cozy and deep like port wine with a caramel richness. As it cools, tea-like notes emerge in the finish as well, with some granny smith crispness. I love how bold Zanya’s profile is for a lighter roast coffee. If you like low-acidity coffees, but also want a complex profile, this one is for you.

This coffee comes to us from Greater Goods, a roaster based in Austin Texas who has won just about every award worth winning – Roast Magazine's Micro-Roaster of the Year, multiple Good Food Awards (um, hope you got their banana-bread Sumatran that I wrote about last year!), Best Coffee in Texas from Food & Wine – and they give back to local Austin charities with every bag sold. I love that they reach far and wide for non-traditional coffees like this one, that really give us a chance to sip beyond the well-worn classics. If you’re looking for something unique from a corner of the coffee world, grab your own bag of Zanya Double-Washed "maple syrup" microlot! Available for a limited time.

Bottom Line: You’ll like this coffee if you like plum wine, caramel apples, or LOTS of maple syrup on your waffles.