A family name. A phin filter. Two sisters living in the same city for the first time in ten years. This is the story behind TRAN Coffee Lab - and why we're bringing Vietnamese coffee from Vietnam to Sweden.
Why We Started TRAN Coffee Lab
Our parents arrived in Sweden in the early 90s as refugees from Ho Chi Minh City. They were young. They didn't know anyone. They didn't speak the language. They had nothing except each other and the decision to start over completely.
They built a life from zero. And somewhere along the way, they built ours too.
We have always wanted to do something together - and something for them. We already have Restaurang TRAN, which carries our family name, and TRAN Coffee Lab is the next chapter of that same story.
Growing up, we didn't go back to Vietnam often. But Vietnamese coffee was always there. Our parents made it at home, the real way - phin filter balanced on the cup, hot water poured slowly, condensed milk waiting at the bottom. During Swedish summers, that cup was a direct line back to streets we barely knew but somehow missed. It was ritual. It was comfort. It was theirs, and then it became ours.
We want to bring that to Sweden properly.
There are other Vietnamese coffees on the market, but the ones that have made it here cut corners - heavy on butter, light on sustainability. We're working directly with Bui Coffee Supply in Vietnam, roasting in Da Lat (the city where our mum was born), and our parents are still the ones who help us get the ratios right. It's as close to the real thing as we can make it.
This is a side project. Self-financed. Driven by the fact that for the first time in almost ten years, my sister and I live in the same city again. That felt like a sign.
TRAN Coffee Lab is for anyone who wants great coffee. But it's dedicated to two people who gave up everything for a life they hadn't seen yet.
We think they deserve a coffee named after them.
Co-founder, TRAN Coffee Lab
Cecilia is the older sister and co-founder who keeps TRAN Coffee Lab running. From the legal paperwork to the accounting, the website, and the logistics - she builds the systems behind the scenes so every bag of coffee makes it to your door on time.