Learning about Vietnamese coffee and the many ways it's served was a highlight of my first trip to Vietnam. I'd only tried traditional Vietnamese iced coffee a few times in the United States before landing in Saigon to start our two-week adventure. I had much to discover.
As Kel and I cafe-hopped through Saigon, Da Nang, Hoi An, and Hanoi, my appreciation for Vietnamese coffee culture increased.
French colonists introduced coffee to Vietnam in 1857, kicking off a multi-century agricultural boom. Today, Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee exporter; only Brazil exports more. Colombia, where I once lived and began drinking coffee regularly, is third.
The importance of coffee in Vietnam is evident on the city streets, where there seems to be a cafe on every block (and down most alleys, too). Here, I'll highlight the typical types of Vietnamese coffee drinks on those cafe menus.
If you can get to Vietnam, there's no better place to try them-otherwise, check Vietnamese restaurants or an Asian market near you.
Types of Vietnamese Coffee
Drip Coffee
The most common way to brew coffee in Vietnam is with a phin, a traditional Vietnamese coffee filter.
The simple device is made of stainless steel or aluminum and includes four parts:
- Filter plate
- Brew chamber (small cup)
- Gravity press (metal disc)
- The Cap
Making Vietnamese drip coffee is similar to the French press and pour-over methods. First, place the filter plate over an empty glass or mug, then set the small metal cup on it. Add two tablespoons of ground coffee, then place the gravity press on top.
Pour hot water until there's about a half-inch above the gravity press. Let the grounds react for 30-45 seconds, a process called "blooming." Finally, add more hot water until the brew chamber is full, then add the cap (lid) to help lock in the heat.
At this point, if you're in a cafe, they'll bring you a glass with the metal filter on top, and you'll wait for the coffee to finish brewing (about five minutes). No single-use paper filters are required, thereby reducing waste.
Hot Black Coffee
If you're after a hot black coffee (ca phe den nong), remove the phin from the top and start sipping. Up to 95% of Vietnamese coffee beans are Robusta, which are twice as caffeinated as Arabica, more intense, and more bitter.
So, if you have difficulty drinking your first Vietnamese black coffee, add some sugar and sweetened condensed milk to cut the bitterness.
Iced Black Coffee
Since two-thirds of Vietnam has a tropical climate, hot coffee has limited appeal, while iced coffee is ubiquitous. If you prefer iced black coffee (ca phe den da), once your cup is brewed, pour the resulting coffee into a glass with ice.
Iced Milk Coffee
Aside from nitro cold brew coffee, I prefer sweet coffee with a creamy texture, so I gravitated toward Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk (ca phe sua da).
In the 1800s, fresh milk wasn't available in Vietnam. As the coffee industry and French-inspired cafe culture developed, people used sweetened condensed milk (which doesn't require refrigeration) instead.
Sweetened condensed milk helps cut the bitterness of strong Robusta coffee and can create fun visuals when poured into the bottom of a glass or drizzled on the sides.
Iced White Coffee
If you want to partake in Vietnam's cafe scene but aren't a huge coffee lover, you've got options.
Vietnamese white coffee (bac xiu) flips the coffee-to-sweetened condensed milk ratio. Think of it as Vietnam's version of an iced latte. I only had one iced white coffee during my travels, as it tasted more like milk than coffee.
Most cafes offer alternatives to coffee, such as tea, cacao drinks, fresh fruit juices, and smoothies. We came across some truly creative options.
See also: Anan Saigon's Modern Vietnamese Cuisine
Egg Coffee
Hot
Necessity was the mother of invention in 1946 when a former bartender, Nguyen Vang Giang, sought a substitute for milk, which was in short supply due to the First Indochina War (known as the French War in Vietnam).
Giang whisked raw egg yolks with sweetened condensed milk, butter, and cheese into a thick foam, then dolloped it atop Vietnamese coffee.
The result was a creamy dessert-like drink and an instant hit in Hanoi. Think liquid tiramisu. Giang capitalized on his discovery and opened his eponymous coffee shop, Cafe Giang, a few blocks north of Hoan Kiem Lake.
Today, you can still enjoy his original Vietnamese egg coffee (ca phe trung) at Cafe Giang, now run by his eldest son. There, you'll find the classic recipe plus a lengthy list of variations.
Egg coffee is typically served hot and kept warm in a water bath. To enjoy this beverage as the Vietnamese do, use the small spoon provided to scoop up a taste of the foam before sipping on the coffee beneath.
At Cafe Giang, I also tried a hot egg coffee with Oreos, which was the same, with crumbled cookies on top. I liked the chocolatey taste the cookies added, but two egg coffees in one sitting were too much for me.
Cold
In the 1990s, Nguyen Vang Giang's daughter opened Cafe Dinh a few blocks from her father's cafe in Hanoi. Here, you can find the family's original egg coffee in hot and cold versions, along with other drinks typical of Vietnamese cafes.
I used the opportunity to try cold egg coffee. The texture and consistency were similar to the hot version, but it didn't need to be served in a water bath. The presentation was attractive, and it tasted similar. However, I preferred the hot version because it felt a little luxurious.
Coconut Coffee
Upon landing in Vietnam, my first coffee was a coconut coffee (ca phe dua) at Cong Ca Phe, a chain of Vietnamese cafes that began in Hanoi in 2007 and has since expanded throughout the country.
What I received was like a thick, creamy coconut smoothie with a bit of cold Vietnamese black coffee. Vietnamese coffee recipes vary; however, most call for blending sweetened condensed milk with coconut cream (or coconut milk) and ice.
While I love coconut cream and enjoyed the drink for what it was, I didn't order another coconut coffee. Like Vietnamese white coffee, it didn't have enough coffee flavor. As I write this, though, I realize other cafes may have different ratios of coconut slush to coffee, and perhaps I gave up too soon!
Related: Coffee Culture in Milan
Yogurt Coffee
There's a first time for everything, including Vietnamese yogurt coffee. This drink is exactly what it sounds like. They add plain yogurt to a glass, then top it with chilled black coffee and ice. They provide a long spoon to mix it, then you sip it through a straw.
As a matter of personal preference, I learned that I prefer to keep my yogurt consumption separate from my coffee consumption. This was another typical Vietnamese coffee drink I had once in the country.
Smoothie Coffee
At this point in the list, it shouldn't surprise you that Vietnamese people also enjoy a good coffee smoothie. At its simplest, this is black coffee blended with sweetened condensed milk and ice. Of course, there are infinite variations.
My only regret from Vietnam is that I didn't make it a point to try an avocado smoothie coffee (ca phe sinh to bo). Avocados appeared to be a popular option for making smoothies there, and I can't blame them. I use avocados for smoothies at home for their creamy texture and healthy fats.
Related: Coffee Shops in Austin
Salt Coffee
Finally, I will end this article with the most delightful surprise I experienced on a motorbike street food tour in Da Nang, a coastal city in Central Vietnam.
One of our stops was at a cafe where I tried salt coffee (ca phe muoi) for the first time. This delicious drink is said to have been first served at Ca Phe Muoi, a cafe in Hue, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) up the coast from Da Nang.
Vietnamese salt coffee is typically made using a Vietnamese phin filter. The only difference between regular milk coffee and salt coffee is that you add fermented milk with salt in addition to sweetened condensed milk. The salt is said to cut the bitterness of the more robust Vietnamese beans while enhancing the milk's sweetness.
At the charming cafe where I first tried it, the coffee arrived fully brewed, with a light foam on top and a dusting of cocoa powder.
One of our Vietnamese guides instructed me to scoop a spoonful of the salty foam to savor before sipping the coffee. I did, and I was blown away by how delicious it tasted.
I've already found an Asian bakery close to home that serves salt coffee, so that I can keep up my fix.
Related: Traditional Vietnamese Food
Final Thoughts
Touring Vietnam for the first time and delving into its coffee and cafe culture was great fun. Considering how strong the coffee is there and that I typically drink less than a cup a day at home, I was surprised by how well I handled it. I now appreciate Vietnamese coffee more, and it goes well beyond Vietnam's best-known iced milk coffee.
