In the gentle spring weather, Son La coffee hills enter the most beautiful white flower season of the year. From Chieng Mai, Chieng An to Muoi Noi, Nam Lau, the flower colors stretch like "snow" covered in golden sunshine.
Recorded by Lao Dong Newspaper reporters in Chieng Mai commune, the key area of Arabica, coffee flowers bloomed all over the branches, covering the hillsides in white. Hundreds of coffee hills follow each other stretching out, eye-catching, concrete roads convenient for tourists to experience the short flower season.
Flowers usually bloom from mid-February to mid-May, blooming in 2-3 batches, each batch lasting only about 7-10 days. This shortage makes the flower season even more precious.
Just after a few spring rainy nights, the whole hill seemed to wake up, simultaneously blooming pure white.
Arabica coffee flowers have five pure white petals, pale yellow pistils, clustered thickly along the stem and branches. When the sun rises, the coffee hill shines brightly on the white background of the flowers, as soft as clouds falling down the mountain.
The flower scent is gentle, pure, spreading far but not intense.
Mr. Cam Van Hoang said that flowers are most beautiful in the early morning when mist still leaves petals and the sun just reaches the top of the hill.
Standing in the middle of a white flower hill, it feels very peaceful. The gentle scent makes everyone want to stay longer," said Mr. Hoang.
Not only creating scenery, coffee flowers also attract wild bees to collect honey. Bee colonies flutter in the middle of white hills, contributing to the production of coffee flower honey with a characteristic fresh and fragrant taste.
At the model garden of Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company, many tourists come to visit, take photos, and enjoy coffee in a space filled with pure white color.
Ms. Tong Thu Thuy (Co village, Chieng An) shared that standing in the middle of a white flower hill, she felt like she was lost in the snowy region of the North.
The flowers are not brilliant but pure and innocent. I have taken many photos to capture this moment," Ms. Thuy shared.
Ms. Le Thi Le Quyen said that coming to Son La in the flower blooming season is a lucky thing. The hills follow each other, white as snow, stretching out, creating a scene that is both majestic and poetic.
Coffee trees have been associated with Son La land for more than 20 years. The whole province currently has about 24,300 hectares of coffee, mainly Arabica varieties, with an annual fresh fruit output of over 300,000 tons.
Many areas have achieved sustainable certifications such as RA, 4C, VietGAP and organic production; more than 1,100 hectares of specialty coffee with an output of about 1,000 tons.
Mr. Vu Ngoc Huy, representative of Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company, said that this year flowers are blooming densely and uniformly, which is a positive sign for the new crop season.
According to Mr. Huy, in the 2025 crop season, the purchase price is from 25,000–35,000 VND/kg, helping growers be excited when income improves significantly. Hopefully, this crop year, coffee will be a bumper crop, have good prices and continue to be exported to the EU, North America, the Middle East and ASEAN.
The coffee flower season not only opens a new crop season but is also a "golden moment" of highland nature. That white color heralds a sweet fruit season and the expectation to elevate the value of Son La coffee.
