Growing
Bốn tầng tán rừng: kiến trúc của một khu vườn cà phê tử tế
Kiến trúc vườn cà phê bốn tầng tán rừng ở Khe Sanh: sơ đồ từng tầng, vi khí hậu mát và bóng che giúp hạt chín chậm, ngọt sâu và bền vững cùng đất.
26 Jun 20268 min read
Top 1 in SE Asia · Liberica 2024
Four forest layers, one story
Specialty coffee nurtured beneath four forest canopy layers in Hướng Phùng, Khe Sanh, Vietnam — where the forest and its people nourish each other.
Top 1
Liberica · SE Asia 2024
84,75
SCA score · Arabica
700m
Growing elevation
260ND
Pesticides tested · none detected
Our story
Starting over from nothing
Madam Hương started over after the 2012 coffee-price crash, when many gardens nearby were cleared for lack of profit. To save hers, she interplanted timber and fruit trees between the remaining coffee rows — at first purely a matter of survival.
Over time that intercropped garden grew into a complete four-layer agroforestry ecosystem. Its biodiversity keeps pests in check naturally, the soil stays moist and friable, and — most importantly — cup quality improved markedly.
From a survival measure, Madam Hương’s model now yields Liberica ranked Top 1 in Southeast Asia 2024 and Arabica scoring 84.75 SCA.
Farm film
The story, in motion
A short film of the four-layer forest garden and the people behind Madam Hương Coffee.
Multi-layer forest garden
A forest that is farmed
On the red basalt soil of Hướng Phùng, 15 hectares of coffee grow in a four-layer agroforestry system. Timber trees, Liberica, Arabica and herb-and-spice plants share one closed ecosystem, entirely free of chemical pesticides.
Location
Hướng Phùng, Quảng Trị
Elevation
700 m
Area
15 hectares
Soil
Red basalt
The four-layer canopy
Layer 1 · Upper canopy
15–25 m
Timber trees — Nauclea
Structure & shade
Windbreak, temperature buffer and moisture for the whole garden. Leaf litter feeds the soil; the timber is a long-term asset.
Layer 2 · Mid canopy
4–8 m
Liberica Excelsa + fruit trees
Export crop
The main export-crop layer — Liberica, Top 1 in Southeast Asia. Light shade for the Arabica below, plus supplementary fruit income.
Layer 3 · Lower canopy
2–3 m
Arabica
Main crop · SCA 84.75
The primary specialty crop, benefiting from light filtered through the two layers above — cherries ripen slower and more evenly.
Layer 4 · Ground
< 0.5 m
Herbs & medicinal plants
Cover & biodiversity
Covers the soil, retains moisture, controls erosion and suppresses weeds. A habitat for beneficial insects that aid natural pest control.
Climate & environmental adaptation
The forest cools, holds water, and feeds the soil
The four-layer canopy creates a stable microclimate — something coffee monoculture cannot achieve — helping the plants withstand extreme weather and yield higher-quality beans.
Microclimate regulation
2–3°C lower soil surface
The canopy limits heat shock for Arabica. Coffee ripens more slowly beneath the forest, accumulating more sugars and improving both bean body and flavour.
Moisture retention & water saving
20–30% higher soil moisture
The canopy reduces evaporation and the need for irrigation. Natural processing (drying the whole cherry) minimizes wastewater and protects water sources.
Erosion control & soil regeneration
Roots hold soil, leaves make humus
The root systems of timber trees hold the soil on hilly terrain; fallen leaves form a layer of organic humus, raising natural fertility and restoring degraded soil.
Fewer agrochemicals
30–50% less pesticide
A diverse ecosystem attracts natural predators (birds, bees, butterflies, beneficial spiders); medicinal plants repel insects naturally, sustaining clean cultivation.
Carbon sequestration
A biological carbon store
Long-lived timber trees — yellow cadamba in particular — absorb and store CO₂, laying the foundation for future carbon-credit revenue.
Biodiversity
Regenerating the native ecosystem
The multi-layered space is a habitat for bees, birds, butterflies, and beneficial organisms, supporting pollination and natural balance across the hills of Quảng Trị.
Economic performance
Four layers of plants, four streams of income
The model diversifies income across multiple product tiers, reducing risk when coffee prices swing — measured per hectare per year at steady state.
Revenue by layer (estimate / ha / year)
Yellow cadamba (Layer 1) — timber amortized at ~200 million VND after 15 years~13 million VND
Liberica coffee (Layer 2) — 1.4 tonnes green × 300k420 million VND
Arabica coffee (Layer 3) — 800 kg green × 320k256 million VND
Medicinal plants & spices (Layer 4)~20 million VND
Agritourism~20 million VND
Total revenue
≈ 729 million VND/ha/year
Net profit
≈ 559 million VND/ha/year
Versus traditional monoculture
More than 3× higher
Traditional coffee monoculture in Hướng Hóa typically yields ~150 million VND profit/ha/year. The multi-layered canopy model delivers more than three times the economic return, while being more sustainable for the environment and climate.
The coffee
Two coffees, one forest
Arabica
SCA 84.75“Forest Dew”
White flowerOrangeBlack currantRaisin
ProcessWashed & Honey
LayerLayer 3
Bean density730–760 g/l
Pack250 g
Arabica Catimor lot scored 84.75 on the CQI Q scale
From₫165,000≈ $6.50
Liberica
Top 1 SEA 2024“Hibiscus”
HibiscusTropical fruitApricotPassion fruitDried jujube
ProcessNatural & anaerobic
LayerLayer 2
AchievementTop 1 SE Asia 2024
Pack250 g
First Place, Special Recognition — SEA Green Coffee Competition 2024
From₫185,000≈ $7.28
Partner in Japan
Vietnamese beans, roasted in Japan
SRM — a Japanese coffee roastery and social-welfare workshop — shares its journey bringing Vietnamese green coffee to roasters and tables across Japan.
Harvest & processing
Selective picking, controlled processing
Each lot collects only fully ripe cherries, hand-picked over several passes following the natural ripening under the canopy. After picking, the coffee is processed and greenhouse-dried, controlled batch by batch.
100%ripe cherries per harvested lot
Quality & certification
Traceable, independently tested
Geographical Indication
Khe Sanh Coffee (GI)
Khe Sanh Coffee Geographical Indication certificate.
Pesticide residue
260 compounds · ND
GC/MS/MS tested by a Japanese laboratory (Shokukanken) — no residue detected.
Award
Top 1 Southeast Asia
Liberica — First Place Special Recognition, SEA Green Coffee Competition 2024.
Quality score
Arabica · 84.75 SCA
Q Certified Arabica (CQI) — Catimor variety, natural processed, 2023/2024 harvest.
Quality & international markets
From the farm to the most demanding markets
The solution does not stop at cultivation but extends into processing and a specialty value chain built to international standards, freeing farmers from the role of selling raw coffee.
Specialty Arabica, 84.75 points
Certified specialty by the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) — proving high quality at an elevation of just 600–700 m, without depending on altitudes above 1,200 m.
Top 1 Liberica Southeast Asia 2024
Liberica Excelsa won Top 1 at the Southeast Asia Green Coffee Competition 2024, reviving the value of a heritage coffee variety.
Already present in Germany
Our partner The Annamites Coffee Roaster (München) invited us to present in Germany — one of the world's most exacting markets for quality and traceability.
A legal entity in Japan
We established Madam Huong Coffee Japan in Ueda, Nagano. Official supply to the Japanese market is planned from Q3 2026, alongside participation in the Tokyo Coffee Show 2026.
No pesticide residue
Test results from the Shokukanken Institute (Japan) prove the coffee is entirely free of pesticide residue, meeting the standard on the path toward Organic JAS certification.
Expanding to Korea & the USA
The products continue to expand into South Korea and toward the United States, step by step joining the global specialty-coffee value chain.
For partners
Green coffee for roasters & importers
Every export lot traces back to a single farm and a published cultivation protocol. Selective hand-picking at 100% ripeness, controlled processing, no chemical pesticides.
Lot-level traceability100% ripe cherriesOrganic IPM
Producer
An Viet Farm Co., Ltd
Address
14 Hàm Nghi, Khe Sanh, Quảng Trị
Growing region
Thôn Cợp, Hướng Phùng · 700 m · 15 ha
Varieties
Liberica Excelsa · Arabica Catimor
Multi-stakeholder linkage & cooperation
An ecosystem that contributes together and benefits together
The model is not merely agricultural production but a multi-dimensional cooperative ecosystem, where every actor in the value chain shares in the benefit and has a stake in a lasting commitment.
Farmers — The heart of the model
They receive transfers of organic farming and specialty processing techniques (washed, honey, natural), access preferential capital, and are supported toward international certifications (SCA, CQI).
The enterprise — The connecting locomotive
Madam Hương Coffee – An Việt Farm guarantees offtake, invests in standard-grade storage, builds the brand, and expands both domestic and export markets.
Scientists — The launchpad of knowledge
Research institutes and experts help select drought-tolerant, disease-resistant varieties; they train specialty processing and accompany the farm toward international certification.
Government — The policy backbone
Support for OCOP registration, geographical indication, and brand protection; integration into new-rural programmes and connection to trade and tourism promotion.
The community — Partners who share in the benefits
Agritourism and farmstays bring jobs and business opportunities; forests, water sources, and biodiversity are restored; and the region's image is elevated.
The model was chosen to work with WWF and SloW to compile the “Guidebook for agroforestry Arabica coffee cultivation” for use in Quảng Trị. Several companies such as Blue in Green, Mountain Pearl, and Bui Coffee Supply have signed offtake agreements.
Feasibility & scalability
Development roadmap 2025 – 2030
The model uses existing coffee acreage and native plant varieties and requires no complex machinery — making it easy to access, easy to deploy, and highly scalable.
2025 – 2026
Complete quality certification, consolidate the first export markets (Japan and Germany), and roll out experiential tourism for visitors.
2026 – 2028
Scale up partnerships with farming households in the region, expand e-commerce and distribution to Korea, China, Europe, and the USA; evaluate the cardamom project.
2028 – 2030
Diversify products (drip-filter bags, capsules) and build experiential showrooms in Đà Nẵng, Hà Nội, and Hồ Chí Minh.
With an average transfer cost of ~20 million VND/ha (seedlings, planting and processing techniques), the model is committed to sharing its experience with farming households — especially the Vân Kiều – Pa Cô ethnic communities in Hướng Hóa, Quảng Trị.
Capability & commitment
Grower · creator · storyteller · market-maker
Thirty years ago, Madam Hương entered the coffee industry with an aspiration to carry the Vietnamese bean out into the world. Through the market's turbulent years, she chose a new path: specialty coffee — organic farming — agroforestry — the circular economy.
Trần Mai Hương (Madam Hương)
Founder · soul of the project
More than 30 years devoted to the coffee plant, personally building the agroforestry model and connecting farmers, businesses, and government.
Nguyễn Việt Phương
Flavour artisan · design
Roasts, cups, and evaluates every batch of coffee; holds an Intermediate Roasting certificate in the SCA's CSP programme. Responsible for the brand's imagery and packaging.
Nguyễn Thế Đại Tướng
Processing specialist
Researches and refines processing methods (washed, honey, natural) and trains farming households; keeps bean quality stable, optimizes costs, and reduces losses.
Nguyễn Đình Đức Việt
Agritourism
A professional guide building coffee-tourism, farmstay, and agricultural-experience programmes that expand value for the community.
Nguyễn Khánh Tùng
Japanese market
A bridge to international markets (Delica Food, Nara — Japan); supports entry strategy, certification (JAS, SCA), and finding distribution partners.
A “4-in-1” model — combining the grower, the creator, the storyteller, and the market-maker to form a closed value chain from bean to cup.
Contact
Let’s continue the story
For pricing, samples or the farm’s technical dossier, leave your details — we’ll get back to you soon.
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