1 day Ago By Jessica De Nova
STANTON, Calif. (KABC) -- Tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration have had a drastic impact on the stock market and on American businesses. But this popular Vietnamese coffee shop in Orange County is expanding despite the increased costs.
When Da Vien Coffee opens up shop in a new city, you can expect to see long lines out the door, spilling onto the street. They recently held a grand opening in Stanton, which is the shop's third location in Orange County since their start in 2020. Founder Vinny Nguyen says as he's looking to meet the needs of his customers from L.
A. County, and that's why Da Vien is heading their way. "That's where the mostly main customers are coming from, so they don't have to drive all the way out here for a cup of coffee," Nguyen said.
A cup of coffee from Da Vien, which means ice cube in Vietnamese, travels a long way to get to SoCal. All of their Robusta beans come from Vietnam. "Everybody goes to Vietnam to collect Robusta coffee beans," Nguyen said.
According to a December 2024 USDA report, Vietnam produces the most Robusta coffee of any nation, followed by Brazil and Indonesia. Why Robusta? "Robusta beans actually have almost more than twice of the caffeinated level compared to Arabica bean," Nguyen explained. Stronger coffee from Vietnam is in line with the traditional base Nguyen relies on.
Nguyen says his coffee is made using the traditional phin brew method, which is an hour-long process. Once that's completed, that's when the creativity -- or as Nguyen calls it "the revolution" -- begins. Some customer favorites from the shop's extensive menu include the banana latte and matcha latte.
But even as Da Vien's popularity grows, the 46% tariff from the U.S. looming over Vietnam is cause for concern.
Nguyen's plans include eight new locations before the end of the year. "I am worried just like everyone else. We just have to maintain our focus on what we can do to maintain our costs while we wait until the market stabilize," Nguyen said.
He says he'll let his profits take the hit and not charge more for a cup of Da Vien as long as possible to keep his customers happy and stay on track. Nguyen says he's getting ready to open his next location in Cerritos this summer and predicts that everything should go as planned regardless of the tariffs..
