In April 2026, Vietnam's largest coffee company, Trung Nguyen Legend, opened its first store, "World Coffee," in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. A large four-story store with a total floor area of 260 m², it serves not just coffee but pho and banh mi too. It aims to roll out 20 stores in Taiwan, accelerating the overseas export of Vietnamese coffee culture.
The full picture of Taoyuan's "World Coffee"
Located in Taoyuan City's arts and culture area, it enjoys a prime location adjacent to the Taoyuan Public Library, hailed as "Taiwan's most beautiful library." The four-story interior is unified in cream and bright wood tones, with a brewing station on the first floor demonstrating traditional Vietnamese phin drip.
The store concept is "an energy space of awakening." Rather than a mere café, it's designed as a cultural hub where you can experience three coffee civilizations: "Zen, Roman, and Ottoman." The brand, launched in 1996 by founder Dang Le Nguyen Vu (nicknamed "Vietnam's coffee king"), now runs about 1,110 stores worldwide.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Store name | Trung Nguyen Legend World Coffee, Taoyuan store |
| Opening timing | April 2026 |
| Location | Taoyuan City, Taiwan (adjacent to the Taoyuan Public Library) |
| Scale | Four stories / about 260 m² |
| Concept | An experience of the three great coffee civilizations—Zen, Roman, and Ottoman |
| Taiwan rollout target | 20 stores |
Not just coffee—pho and banh mi introduced for the first time too
At the Taiwan flagship, in addition to the classic phin drip coffee, iced milk coffee, egg coffee, almond coffee, and cold brew, pho and grilled-meat banh mi were added to the menu. This is the first time a Trung Nguyen Legend store has served Vietnamese food.
The coffee beans use Robusta from Buon Ma Thuot in Dak Lak Province in Vietnam's Central Highlands. Known as the holy land of Vietnamese coffee, Buon Ma Thuot's Robusta is characterized by the powerful body and sweet aftertaste unique to the variety.
Taiwanese media took big notice too
Taiwan's major media reported one after another. Business Weekly Taiwan, Yahoo Taiwan, Storm Media, and others ran headlines like "The miracle of Vietnamese coffee lands in Taoyuan," a sign of the high level of attention.
Local reactions have been strong too, with both tourists and locals visiting since right after opening. Behind it is Taiwan's growing specialty-coffee market and rising interest in coffee brands from Southeast Asia.
On Taiwanese social media, posts like "I didn't know Vietnamese coffee was this refined" and "the first place in Taiwan where you can enjoy pho and coffee together" were seen.
What it means for travelers from Japan
Options to experience authentic Vietnamese coffee while traveling in Taiwan have increased. Taoyuan City has good access from Taoyuan International Airport, within a distance you can drop by even between transits.
In Japan too, the popularity of Vietnamese coffee (especially ca phe sua da, which uses condensed milk) is rising, and it's worth noting as an entry point to touch Vietnam's food culture via Taiwan. Since pho and banh mi are also on the menu, it's easy to drop by even if you're not familiar with coffee.
The global strategy of Vietnam's coffee industry
Trung Nguyen Legend's overseas expansion doesn't stop at Taiwan. Summing up the 2026 moves brings the whole picture of the global strategy into view.
| Markets | 2026 moves | Target number of stores |
|---|---|---|
| Taiwan | First store opens in Taoyuan (April) | 20 stores |
| United States | 10th store opens in Houston (March) | 100 stores |
| China | Rolling out to major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu | 50 stores (within 2026) |
| Other | Set to expand to Melbourne, Canada, India, Japan, South Korea, Dubai, and France | Not yet announced |
Notable is that the Japanese market is also among the expansion destinations. If a specialist Vietnamese coffee chain lands in Japan, it may gather a certain following as an option different from convenience-store coffee or Starbucks.
Though Vietnam is the world's No. 2 coffee-bean exporter, it long remained a "raw-material supplier." Trung Nguyen Legend's move symbolizes a shift from raw-material export to "culture export."
You may also like: Third-wave coffee shops making waves in Da Nang / How to enjoy Hanoi's specialty egg coffee "Cafe Giang" / The stunning collaboration of Marou bonbon chocolate x pho
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Store name | Trung Nguyen Legend World Coffee, Taoyuan store |
| Address | Taoyuan City, Taiwan (the area adjacent to the Taoyuan Public Library) |
| Hours | Not yet announced |
| Main menu | Phin drip coffee, egg coffee, pho, banh mi |
| Price range | Not yet announced |
| Access | About 20 minutes by car from Taoyuan International Airport |
| Official site | trungnguyenlegend.com |
Trung Nguyen Legend's entry into Taiwan is a turning point where Vietnam's coffee industry has begun to put down roots in overseas markets as a brand. If the strategy of a "composite Vietnamese food-culture experience," adding pho and banh mi to coffee, succeeds in Taiwan, expansion to Asian countries including Japan will likely accelerate all at once.
Sources and references
