WE have been serving Liberica from Lam Dong since 2016, long before its current hype. From an obsession, in 2022, we expanded our capacity to spearhead our very own Liberica project in Quang Tri.
 
This third drop, GOLD, was featured in Christos Sotiros’ routine in his 2024 Swiss Barista Championship and helped he win the Champion title. GOLD is perfect as an espresso base for a piccolo or a cortado, with notes of gingerbread, warming spices, stevia, and black tea.
 
When 2022 Swiss Barista Champion Christos Sotiros reached out to discuss featuring our Liberica for his 2024 competition, we were excited, but nervous. 96B's mission from day one has been to showcase, honour, and bring modern Vietnamese coffee to the world — having a former champion to present our coffee in a major competition sounded ideal. At the same time, we want those who enjoy our coffee, be it consumers, roasters or competitors, to understand and truly appreciate the coffee for what it is. Frankly, we don't have a lot of green beans to sell, as our partner farmers have limited capacity and we are quite strict in how we buy green beans. More importantly, we only want to sell our green to those who are actually interested and share the same values.
 
But once Chris told us his belief in how the future of coffee should be expansive and inclusive, we were convinced. His genuine enthusiasm for our Liberica and its potential, and his conviction that "competition" coffee should not be only expensive, exclusive, and limited, but could be affordable and approachable, resonated deeply with our philosophy. For 96B and Chris, coffee should be accessible, sustainable, and equitable. Delicious, of course, but delicious based on its own merits. We are not interested in evaluating Liberica based on Arabica standards. We believe that each coffee has its own qualities to offer, if you keep an open mind.
 
Chris used this Vietnamese honey-processed Liberica in his routine for the milk course, and as a blend component for the signature course. And, well, he won. If you watch his routine, his victory seems inevitable. What a performance with no redundant movements, smooth presentation, and personable warmth. Frankly, he would win with whichever coffee he used, we think. We are just lucky that Chris chose our Liberica.
 
You can watch Chris's routine here
 
ZONE: huong phung, huong hoa, quang tri
ALTITUDE: 600 masl
VARIETY: liberica
PROCESSING: honey
TASTE NOTES: orange, gingerbread, clove, umami, black tea, creamy mouthfeel
NET WEIGHT: 200gr