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The journey of an Ede boy bringing coffee beans to the city
At first, Mr. Y To To (born in 2000, from Dak Lak) cycled around Hanoi, selling cups of hand-roasted Robusta coffee grown by his family in Dak Lak. After a while of selling coffee on the street, he began to think about finding a more stable place to continue the story in his own way.
In 2023, UNESCO YCC Hanoi was restored from the project “Bringing Forests to the City”. In May 2025, also within the framework of this project, TôTô Café was born.
Mr. Y To To, owner of To To coffee shop
TôTô Café was born at 23 Chau Long Street, an ancient house more than a century old.
Ede imprint inside a house over a hundred years old
The coffee shop is a house built in 1924, bearing the mark of Hanoi architecture of that period. After more than a century, while many neighboring buildings have changed, 23 Chau Long is the only one that still retains its original appearance intact.
By 2022, the house was rented and restored, with the old, patchy and cracked brick walls still intact, creating an authentic backdrop, highlighting the Ede objects displayed inside.
The space inside To To restaurant is cozy and rustic.
The traditional Ede shirt is a cultural highlight in the restaurant space.
The space of the restaurant is decorated with many items reminiscent of the Central Highlands, from baskets, gongs, and traditional Ede clothes. Most of them are family mementos or gifts from Ede people. Mr. Y To To Kbuor, the founder of the restaurant, shared: "The restaurant is still completing the space to better express the spirit of indigenous culture."
A quiet space located at the back of the cafe
“Three times nine” and the Ede people's way of enjoying coffee
The core of the shop's appeal is the distinctive flavor of Robusta coffee. The coffee beans are grown, roasted and ground in Dak Lak, using a special processing method: hand-roasted with firewood according to the "oral knowledge" of the people through many generations. This creates the unmistakable smell of kitchen smoke and the red soil of the highlands. "Here I use coffee beans grown from my home garden, the bags of wood-roasted coffee that my parents personally packed and sent to Hanoi still carry the smell of kitchen smoke and the red soil of the highlands," Y To To said.
Ede coffee is introduced with the concept of "three ripenings", which defines the perfection of the coffee bean: 1st ripening: Ripening on the tree when the fruit is red and plump. 2nd ripening: Ripening over fire when roasted and ground with wood. 3rd ripening: Ripening in water when mixed with boiling water to create the complete flavor.
The Ede people have a custom of sharing a single cup of coffee to pass around to enjoy, expressing a spirit of solidarity and a sense of common origin. In Hanoi, this custom has been modified by the shop owner by brewing coffee in a ceramic pot, then pouring it into small cups to share.
"No Wifi, No WC" in the heart of the old town
Amidst the rustic old house, a handwritten sign painted in red paint on the wooden door easily catches the attention of visitors: “Wifi - No. Wc - No.” The lack of modern amenities is not necessarily an intentional distinction, but rather a limitation of the preservation project.
Therefore, the shop is not really suitable for those who want to work or need a comfortable space. But thanks to that, the space here is separate from the noisy streets. People who come to the shop often sit longer, talk more, or just quietly enjoy a cup of coffee.
To To - Seeds of Desire
According to the owner, the name "To To" evokes the image of a small seed, symbolizing "seeds containing great aspirations".
For Y Tô Tô, this cafe is just the beginning. His longer-term goal is to bring Ede culture to more places. “I still cherish a cultural space where Ede people can tell their own stories, like Dam San - 'Epic in the middle of the forest', with an elephant museum, a light stage and vivid experiences.
That dream may still be far away, but in the heart of Hanoi today, each cup of Ede coffee that Y To To pours out still tells a part of that "epic", simple, enduring and full of love for the land and people.
