Chinatown’s Hien: From Vietnam cafe brings Vietnamese flavors countering tariffs

In Vietnamese, Hiền carries the meaning of gentleness and quiet integrity. Two values that a small business owner attempts to integrate into a cup of coffee. At this time of the year, if you find yourself in Chinatown looking for some good Vietnamese coffee, Hien: From Vietnam is a small cafe that has been gaining spotlight on social media for their slushy and strong drinks.

Owned by Christmas Le, who moved to the U.S. in her late 20s from Saigon, a small city in Vietnam, grew up drinking a lot of Vietnamese coffee. As she traveled around, Le found the coffee to be mostly milky or watery that didn’t hit the spot like before. She got the place for the cafe by accident this summer.

Le had previously worked in the hospitality business, working in the kitchen and had dealt with tickets of food orders.

“I realized many people in New York find Vietnamese coffee to be quite strong and are mostly familiar with Americano or cold brew, which are light and diluted. So, let’s say one cup of Vietnamese coffee that I offer here is equivalent to two or three shots of espresso, which I didn’t realize when I had started. It was normal for me, but it was a lot for most people,” said Le.

Le thinks that the Vietnamese food scene in New York could become better and she hopes to bring more flavours from the land of the Blue Dragon to New Yorkers, beginning with the ice-crusted slushy coffee.

People who’ve traveled to Vietnam may be familiar with the unique flavors and texture of this beverage. In the past, there weren’t many ice-machines and Le had seen people from factories deliver huge ice cubes to coffee shops, where a lady would then smash it to make crushed ice.

“It’s not something I even thought about, because it’s just the same way we did in Vietnam. So it’s not a new innovation or anything. It’s totally super old,” said Le.

At the beginning, Le wanted to do that, but then she got the crushed ice machine. And it actually took more time and labor than she thought. Some people have just come to the cafe for the crushed ice too.

But a far more formidable challenge surfaced this year.

Vietnam is one of the major coffee exporting countries to the US and the current administration had imposed a 46% tariff on coffee beans from Vietnam earlier this year.  The tariff was lifted in November 2025, but not without impacting Le’s business and others around the country.

“I knew the tariffs would affect it already. But then in three months, it went up like 20% more. And I couldn’t just stop buying the beans from Vietnam, so I decided it’s better to make little money than compromise the quality of the coffee, especially now my customers know what they’re getting,” said Le.

Le imports coffee beans from Vietnam at $19-$20 per pound every two weeks, depending on how much she could sell.

“I don’t know what else to do. I knew I couldn’t sell coffee at a higher price for one cup,” said Le.

She tried to incorporate salads and other delicacies into the menu at the beginning, but couldn’t manage both working in the kitchen and taking orders from customers, as Le hasn’t employed any workers yet. Meanwhile, demand for her Vietnamese coffee remained strong as word of mouth spread — something that Le didn’t expect right away.

Le thinks that the popularity of her coffee is because she doesn’t mix the coffee beans but instead keeps the original and authentic flavors that she grew up drinking in Vietnam in every cup.

“The idea isn’t about some random coffee and condensed milk that makes Vietnamese coffee. So, I use all of the beans from Vietnam and keep the same way that we brew coffee at home,” said Le.

Le believes that even established businesses are still struggling every day. The price of one cup of coffee isn’t just the cost of milk and coffee beans, it is the income that pays for rent, electricity and labor costs. “Nobody wants to go to a coffee shop and carry the stress of the business owner,” said Le.

While the tariffs have been lifted on Vietnam, the competition faced by small businesses in the face of rising cost of production is still a challenge. As Le struggles to survive in this economy, she envisions to remain resilient and believe in the quality of her coffee to expand her clientele within the community. She hopes to open the place for dining as well one day.

Hien: From Vietnam is located at 121 Mott St. For more information, visit hienfromvietnam.com.