Tuyen Vu is a man with a fascinating backstory embracing three continents and several career incarnations all of which he has fitted into not much more than four decades. He has finally put down deep roots with his family, in Ballinfull, Co. Sligo and settled happily into a career in coffee which he loves.
Tuyen (pronounced ‘twin’) was born in Vietnam but as a child endured the turmoil of the Vietnam War and its aftermath which made it impossible to stay. First his older brother, his wife and young baby fled to Indonesia in a small boat, as part of the refugee group known internationally as the ‘boat people’. They settled in Adelaide, Australia and were swiftly followed by 13 year old Tuyen, his parents and most of his siblings. Tuyen is the youngest in a large family of 13.
Despite speaking little English and plunging straight into school a few weeks after term had started, Tuyen had a happy childhood in sunny Australia. He loved sports, especially soccer and badminton, and was academically bright. This led to a university degree in Mechatronics Engineering in Adelaide University which he worked at for around 15 years. In Sydney he fortuitously crashed a World Youth Day party where he met a young Irish teacher named Angela, who is now his wife. They moved to Ireland in 2009 when the Celtic tiger was a distant memory and engineering (or any) jobs were in scarce supply, 18 months later they found themselves back in Melbourne, ready for a fresh start.
Tuyen did return to engineering work, but his interest in coffee, fostered by the strong coffee culture in Melbourne, was fast becoming an obsession. Vietnam also has a very strong coffee culture and his family lived next to a bustling café which always captivated him. In fact, Vietnam is second only to Brazil in terms of coffee production. Tuyen did a barista course, attended coffee cuppings (tastings), joined some coffee groups and began studying coffee and roasting in earnest.
It’s tough to break into the coffee trade in Australia and roasters keep their secrets close to their chests. Undaunted Tuyen bought a small roaster and some green beans and began practicing on his friends, honing his skills and simultaneously feeding his addiction. The aroma of the beans fascinates him and he is lucky to have an exceptional sense of smell.
He and Angela always planned to move back to Sligo when the time was right and in 2018 that dream came true. He immediately began the process of opening a coffee roasting business and despite the pandemic continued with his plans and began commercially in late 2020. He sells online (www.vuroasters.coffee) and to select outlets. He has a lively stall at Sligo Farmers Market serving a rapidly increasing loyal customer base.
Apart from coffee, Tuyen’s other obsessions are his 19 month old son James Bosco and tennis. He reckons he has almost converted his wife Angela from running to tennis. Time will tell.
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