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Vietnam is one of the world’s biggest coffee-producing countries, yet Thomas Vu rarely saw Vietnamese coffee given the same attention in North America’s specialty coffee scene.
That gap became the idea behind Hanoi Drip Coffee, a Vancouver-based Vietnamese specialty coffee brand that has grown into a multi-million-dollar cafe business in just over two years.
For Vu, the goal goes beyond opening more cafes. He wants people to see Vietnamese coffee differently and prove that a brand deeply rooted in culture can belong on a global stage.
Giving Vietnamese Coffee the Spotlight It Deserves
Vu grew up around the flavors and rituals that make Vietnamese coffee instantly recognizable, from strong Robusta to condensed milk and the slow drip of a phin. Yet despite Vietnam’s rich coffee history, he felt much of that story was still missing from mainstream specialty coffee culture.
That became the opportunity behind Hanoi Drip. Rather than recreate a traditional Vietnamese cafe, Vu and his team asked a bigger question: What could a global Vietnamese coffee brand look like today?
Their answer was to keep the parts of Vietnamese coffee they loved while presenting them for a new generation. Hanoi Drip serves coffee grown in Vietnam, including coffee from Đà Lạt, and puts Robusta, Vietnamese flavors, and phin brewing at the center of the experience.
Learning How to Grow Without Losing the Brand
Building the brand was one challenge. Learning how to grow it without losing what people connected with was another.
When Hanoi Drip was smaller, Vu and the other founders could be involved in nearly every part of the business. As more locations followed, they had to learn how to train teams, develop leaders, manage costs, maintain product consistency, and make sure customers still had a strong experience even when the founders were not there.
Mistakes have been part of that process, and Vu does not pretend otherwise. His approach is to treat them as useful information: fix the problem, build a better system, and move forward, a mindset that has helped Hanoi Drip expand into multiple locations alongside retail coffee, wholesale, and membership offerings.
Taking Vietnamese Coffee Beyond Vancouver
For Vu, some of Hanoi Drip’s most meaningful wins happen when someone tastes Vietnamese coffee for the first time and wants to know more. It also means hearing Vietnamese customers say the brand reminds them of home while still feeling like it belongs to their generation.
That connection has extended beyond coffee. During KOOLFEST 2025, customers purchased more than 1,600 Ube Coconut Coffee and Ube Milk drinks, helping Hanoi Drip raise over $5,500 for a local charity, while the company has also created jobs and collaborated with Asian-owned businesses and creators.
And Vu is still thinking much bigger. He hopes to bring Hanoi Drip beyond Vancouver to markets such as Toronto and Los Angeles, while showing other Asian founders that building something modern does not mean leaving their culture behind.
Learn more about Hanoi Drip and follow the brand as it works to take Vietnamese coffee from Vancouver to a wider global audience.
