After two years of success as a direct-to-consumer coffee ecommerce business, Fat Miilk is preparing to open a brick-and-mortar cafe in Chicago showcasing its Vietnamese-style coffee.
“I want the store to provide more of an experience than just a grab-and-go coffee shop,” said Lan Ho, a former pharmacist who launched Fat Miilk in 2020 after years of planning.
The first Fat Miilk cafe, which Ho hopes to open by the end of the year, will be in Uptown Chicago, in an ethnically diverse area that is also home to Little Vietnam and the “Asia on Argyle” district.
Ho, a first generation Vietnamese American, said the cafe will have a strong educational component, as she hopes to familiarize more consumers with Vietnamese-style coffee and the Robusta coffee varietal that the country is known for producing. About 95 percent of the coffee grown in Vietnam is Robusta, while most of the coffee people drink in the U.S. is brewed from Arabica beans.
“The great thing about Robusta is that it has this nutty, chocolatey, low-acidic profile,” said Ho. “It just pairs so nicely with a little bit of sweetened condensed milk and ice, which is typically how it is enjoyed in Vietnam.”
Arabica coffee, by contrast, is more acidic and tends to have more fruity notes.
In addition to featuring the coffee itself, the Fat Miilk cafe will showcase the traditional method of making coffee in Vietnam, using a “phin” filter that sits on top of the cup, like a cross between a French press and a pour-over, Ho said. Boiling water is slowly poured over the coffee grounds, which have been tamped down in the metal phin.
She said that outside of Vietnamese restaurants, there are not many places where consumers can obtain traditional Vietnamese-style coffee.
“That’s why I really saw a place in the market for this kind of experience,” said Ho. “We are making Robusta more accessible, while also telling a bigger cultural story around that.”
Ho began selling her coffee, which is sourced from Vietnamese farmers, directly to consumers in September 2020, and saw demand rise quickly after some positive publicity. Two months after Fat Miilk launched, Bon Appetit magazine gave it a favorable write-up in its “Highly Recommended” column, and other free publicity followed.
Fat Miilk has also enjoyed success at pop-ups and other events, including in the Little Vietnam area where the cafe will be located.
In addition to making coffee in the traditional Vietnamese style—Fat Miilk’s phin filters “fly off the shelves,” Ho said—customers also prepare Fat Miilk’s coffee as a pour-over or make it in a French press, she said.
Ho said that because Fat Miilk’s Robusta coffee has such strong flavor and aroma, it is also being used in culinary applications, including ice cream and tiramisu, and as a coffee-barbecue dry rub.
The company sells four varieties of coffee online — a light Yellow Roast, a dark Red Roast, a medium-dark Blue Roast, and a 50-50 blend of Robusta and Arabica called Humility Blend. The Blue Roast is by far the most popular coffee, and it’s what the company has served at its popups and events.
“It has a very strong, concentrated flavor, and it’s great with just a little sweetened condensed milk,” said Ho.
Related: Foodservice Operators Seek Value, Versatility From Suppliers; FDA Proposes Updated 'Healthy' Claim Definition.