To “draw” a portrait of Tu, the quickest way is to draw an image of his coffee shop. It is a small shop on Van Mieu street, always shrouded in mystery by 4 black walls and melodious Jazz music. The shop only serves coffee, the staff absolutely does not… collect money. Because the owner will happily accept whatever customers want to pay with.

Tu Vu is the third prize winner of the Vietnam Open Roastmasters Championship 2021. His journey to Robusta started during the social distancing days in early 2020, when the French Press could not satisfy the coffee-enjoying needs of a Starbucks addict, he started to learn about coffee roasting and brewing techniques - seriously. By chance, he realized that a traditional industry like coffee had also undergone two powerful revolutions. And now, the third wave is making a big impact on Southeast Asia. It was the curiosity and anxiety of a coffee addict that drew him into that wave, motivating him to create a unique coffee experience space in Hanoi.Phin Bar by Refined.

We visited Refined. on a quiet day in Hanoi. In contrast to the soft light outside, through the thick glass door were four black walls illuminated only by the bar counter - which occupied ⅓ of the total area of ​​the shop. This strange design was later explained by the owner: "I just like it. I like minimalism."

The bar doesn’t have a menu. Usually, the bartenders start by asking, “Can you drink milk?” to help customers choose. The bar’s menu consists of only six drinks, four of which were created based on the preferences of the first customers. Tu Vu said he wanted less but more quality. That’s why the bar only has eight seats, and the bar takes up the entire space.spotlight

“So that every guest who comes here can meet and enjoy the 'main character' to the fullest, which is coffee.”

We are not the first to wonder why Tu Vu chose Robusta coffee beans for his brand. It is a long story, and when he tells it, he cannot hide his excitement.

“In the eyes of the world, Robusta is a cheap and poor quality bean. However, we need to turn the problem around, is Robusta not good or have we not really exploited its full potential? I think that, in the future, Robusta will have a great advantage in Vietnam. In particular, it is very suitable for brewing with a filter. The image of a filter or Robusta is familiar to Vietnamese people; if we choose the best Robusta bean and process it in the most meticulous way, I believe Robusta can go further, becoming a new symbol that influences coffee connoisseurs in the region and the world.”

When asked about the decoration of the shop, the only book displayed in the shop, the names of the drinks..., Tu Vu answered concisely:Oh, I just like it.. But, anyone who has known him long enough knows that this is not a temporary hobby. Tu Vu has been to most of the farms that are said to have the best Robusta coffee in the Central Highlands: from Pleiku, Dak Nong, Buon Me Thuot, to Bao Loc, at each place he has sampled beans to roast, adjusting based on the techniques he learned from Arabica beans. Just like that, after sending nearly... 200 friends to experience, he has seriously found the type of Robusta beans that best suits the taste of Hanoians (for him). The name Refined. was born for that reason. Partly,refinedmeans refined and refined; it also affirms the quality of Robusta coffee beans that have been recognized by CQI's strict "Fine" standards.

Up to now, Refined. is one of the pioneering coffee shops in Hanoi to experiment with the Pour Over model - a way of making coffee using the drip method through filter paper. Pour Over has been around for a long time in the world, it is associated with the V60 funnel, Kalita funnel (from Japan) or Chemex pot (from America), but here, Tu Vu uses a Vietnamese filter, something that is imbued with traditional culture.

After choosing a drink, the barista will extract the coffee using a small filter. The customer’s job now is to wait for each drop of coffee to slowly fall and… smell it, so as not to “waste every moment”.

The shop owner took a sip of Van Mieu, not looking at us, “Coffee has more moments than drinking. From the moment it is ground, it has one smell, from the moment water is poured in, it has another smell, from the moment the first sip is hot, and when it has cooled, it has another smell. Filter coffee brings so many experiences, I want everyone to enjoy it to the fullest. When studying according to the standards of the SCA Association, they have a specific scale to evaluate each moment of coffee: dry aroma, wet aroma, sweetness, body, aftertaste, etc. I don’t think customers need such numbers. At Refined., customers will experience each of those moments themselves, and I believe they are sophisticated enough to feel it themselves. That experience is what they retain, instead of the dry numbers of coffee experts.”

That is probably also the reason why customers often come to his shop. Even though they know every ingredient on the scale by heart, they are still excited every time they sip their coffee, because with just a slight change in grind size, temperature, pouring method, or the emotions of the barista, the cup of coffee will have a very different flavor, like an interesting and creative experience.

"The first time I came to Phin, I thought Phin was a 'disguised' coffee shop, meaning it sells coffee in the morning and... 'dresses up' as a bar at night" - Hoang Anh, a customer of Phin shared. "Perhaps Phin is the first shop that helped me get to know Robusta coffee - which is often overlooked by the communityspecialty coffeesomewhat 'dismissive'. For me, a cup of coffee from Robusta or Arabica beans is fine. As long as each bean contains a hidden value of surprise and interest."

The third wave of coffee revolution appeared about 20 years ago, from the US and Europe, until about 4, 5 years ago, it spread to Vietnam. This movement turned coffee into a high-quality handmade art product, instead of simply a commodity. Roasters need to really understand the geographical parameters associated with the coffee beans they purchase, such as soil, climate, specific altitude, etc., becoming a direct bridge connecting customers and farmers, creating a sustainable supply chain. Coffee beans, after being carefully selected, therefore do not need to be marinated, added with additives or burnt, but still retain their natural aroma and flavor.

Wanting to contribute to making the third wave of the coffee revolution a sustainable development model in Vietnam, according to Tu Vu, he plans to organize coffee farm experience tours in the Central Highlands, so that coffee lovers can find their way back to the “roots” of the farms, getting closer to the local coffee culture. These tours will take place in November and December - the time when people harvest coffee. However, due to the pandemic, this year's plan cannot be implemented. Instead, he started organizing workshops at the shop, to chat and guide people on how to make a perfect phin Nau or Van Mieu at home. All with the purpose of continuing to make Vietnamese coffee "carefully and meticulously".

At the end of the conversation, we each had a cup of coffee, our eyes focused in different directions. Everyone still joked that this was a cultural connection point: located next to the Temple of Literature, both nostalgic and slow, yet close to the bustling main road. Just like the coffee flavor that is being “continued” here, Phin Bar by Refined. is expected to be a hyphen between traditional and modern space.

When we stood up to ask for the bill, the owner pointed mischievously to the corner of the glass door. There was a small black box he called the Tip Box, where customers could decide what to leave behind before leaving.

"So what if the customer doesn't put… money in it?"

"They can put anything in. Here, people don't like to think too much about money," Tu Vu replied, still in a calm voice. "In the end, no matter what customers put in, when they receive the restaurant, they will all be happy."