Mango Sticky Rice

Mango Sticky Rice is Nguyen Thi An's refusal to let a high-altitude lot coast on its elevation.

At Cau Dat, Da Lat, between 1,550 and 1,650 meters, the numbers alone sell coffee. An works Typica and Catimor selections here and still treats altitude as a starting condition rather than an achievement, separating the lot early and holding it back from the estate's general harvest.

Her vision was precise: ripe mango and coconut cream over caramelized brown sugar, finishing with the structure of oolong tea, creamy without losing its edge.

Fully ripe cherries are floated and hand-sorted, then sealed whole for a 72-hour anaerobic natural fermentation, and dried slowly on raised beds in thin layers, turned through the day until moisture is even across the parchment.

For An, specialty coffee is the belief that elevation buys potential, and nothing beyond it.