Sahra Nguyen Brought Vietnamese Coffee to America
By Kelli Luu | 02 Apr, 2026

After starting a successful journalism career, Sahra Nguyen shifted her plans to pursue a vision to introduce Vietnamese robusta beans to the coffee industry.

While the early days of the coffee industry were dominated by European traditions and Latin American beans, Sahra Nguyen played a huge role in bringing Vietnamese coffee into the spotlight. 

She was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised by Vietnamese refugees who escaped the Vietnam War by boat. Nguyen has shared that she struggled with her identity growing up. She was embarrassed that her parents did not have “respectable” professions and that it took years to realize that they were actually living the American Dream. 

Nguyen earned a bachelor’s degree in Asian American Studies at UCLA before working in the journalism field at companies like VICE and NBC. Not only did she host documentaries, she also created and produced her own series called “Deported”, which she sold to NBCNews.com.

This career allowed her to open up more about her culture and explore her identity further, but it wasn’t until 2016 when Nguyen noticed that Vietnamese coffee was beginning to become more popular in the States, but it was difficult to find authentic coffee made from Vietnamese beans. 

Finding this odd, Nguyen did some research and discovered that Vietnam is the world’s second-largest producer of coffee, which is what inspired her to take action. She traveled to Vietnam to learn more about the industry and began building relationships with farmers in the Central Highlands. Nguyen wanted to create a brand that would not only be successful, but also bring visibility and equity to Vietnamese farmers. 

After finding a partner in Vietnam, Nguyen was able to officially launch Nguyen Coffee Supply in 2018 and became the first specialty Vietnamese coffee importer and roaster in the United States. At the time, most coffee in the U.S. was made with arabica beans and Nguyen made it essential to focus on robusta beans. 

In 2022 Nguyen Coffee Supply raised $2.6 million in seed funding, signaling its long-term potential. Since then the company has now expanded into thousands of retail locations across the country, including major grocery stores. 

Nguyen Coffee Supply has also received recognition from major publications like The New York Times, and Sahra Nguyen, herself, earned a spot on Inc. Magazine’s 2023 Female Founders list, cementing her position as a leading voice in the coffee industry.