3 Types Of Vietnamese Coffee You Indulge In When Visiting Vietnam
I have heard that Vietnam is great for food. I love Vietnamese food but before I hit the shores of Vietnam I knew almost nothing about Vietnamese coffee. In fact, there is so much to tell about just that one little beverage that I decided to dedicate an entire post to it.
Why? Because the Vietnamese are really innovative! They combine the strangest of ingredients to give you results that you wouldn’t believe. Before we start out with the specialties, let us look at Vietnamese coffee as a whole.
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Table of Contents
Brewing Vietnamese Coffee
Everything is unique! Even the coffee!
The Vietnamese coffee revolves around the coarse ground dark coffee beans that the Vietnamese call their own. This powdered version of coffee is then placed in a cup with a filter system. A cup on top of a cup for lack of a better description… Hot water is then poured at the top and the coffee begins to drip into the bottom cup.
This preparation is the base for all the different kinds of Vietnamese coffee preparations that you see across the country. Traditionally, this coffee is sweetened with condensed milk. You can however ask for milk and sugar but I think it tastes best the original way.
That being said it took a while for me to get used to the Vietnamese version of coffee because it usually quite strong. Once you taste it enough of times the flavor grows on you!
Types Of Vietnamese Coffee
At first I was confused. Coffee is coffee right? Well apparently that isn’t true. The variations in the Vietnamese coffee come from the various additions that are used in the preparation. The base of the coffee is always the same shot of filtered coffee. Let’s take a look at some of the unique drinks that I have had along the way.
1. Egg Coffee
I have an egg.. I have coffee... Egg Coffee!
Egg coffee! When I said that I wanted to taste it Shawn wrinkled his nose. The egg coffee is a specialty that is limited to Hanoi. I should know because I spent a great deal of time hunting it in the south. While most of us would assume that the white of the egg is used to make the coffee, we couldn’t be further from the truth.
The base is a strong shot of Vietnamese coffee. It is then topped off with a whisked mixture of egg yolk, coffee and sugar. Now the description of how it is made may scare a few people away but hold on a second, let me describe how it tastes.
How? Like a tiramisu! The hint of the Vietnamese coffee that you sip along with the top froth only accentuates the taste!
2. Yogurt Coffee
Yogurt coffee anyone?
Yogurt coffee was definitely not something that I wanted to taste. A friend of mine however said that it was really good and I decided to try it despite my better judgment. Suffice to say that I am happy that I did.
This particular coffee like all the others used the Vietnamese coffee as a base but it was blended into the yogurt. How did it taste? Like a milkshake! Very refreshing! Where did we try this? In Ninh Binh!
3. Iced Milk Coffee
One of the best coffees in Ho Chi Minh!
Speaking of refreshing drinks, there is no Vietnamese coffee as refreshing as the iced milk coffee of Ho Chi Minh. If you have been to Ho Chi Ming, you will know that there are cafes everywhere. Small shops, big shops, street vendors… They all have coffee and the coffee everywhere is mind blowing.
The iced milk coffee is nothing but milk coffee that is poured over ice. The catch? It is a social drink. You have to sip it slowly and enjoy it as the ice melts. The problem was that we could never be patient so we always landed up ordering coffee after coffee!
Truth be told, I never thought I would land up writing about Vietnamese coffee. I am a believer of sharing the good things that I stumble across. If that means talking about coffee so be it!
Now if you have spent even a single day in Vietnam, you will know exactly why! So tell me... Which of the above versions of coffee would you try during your next visit to Vietnam?
Coffee posts are literally my favourite. I'm addicted to flat whites after spending 3 months in New Zealand. I've never heard of egg coffee or yogurt coffee, must try! I enjoy drinking kopi when I've in Singapore. Pretty strong stuff!!
The Vietnamese coffee is really strong too. Almost all versions are except if they add milk into the mix.
I'm sat here in Bucharest right now, having some random coffee thinking.. hell I really need to go to Vietnam just for the coffee (and apparently the food too). I am such coffee lover, you have no idea. Here is an interesting question tho, what type of tea do they serve in Vietnam. As much as I like my coffee, I am tea obsessed. Anything green tea related and you can count me in. 😀
Egg coffee? I am normally such a scardy cat when it comes to trying food and drink when I travel but that sounds so interesting. I may have a slight coffee addiction too so chances are id be up for any weird coffees haaa. Very cool post.
I LOVE Vietnamese iced coffee. I don't drink coffee but when I'm in Vietnam, I have to have it. Awesome insight on some delicious coffee.
Thanks Amanda. I so know what you mean!! I think I got addicted to coffee while I was in Vietnam. It is a hard habit to shake!
I would never have thought Vietnam would be the place for coffee! Interesting post! My partner would love it, he is a real coffee fan - personally I'm more into tea!
A good friend of mine is trying to get me to go to Vietnam by way of transiberian. I favor the flights hahaha but reading about the coffee just nudged me closer to saying yes. I love coffee!!!
Wow I didn't know Vietnam had such great coffees! That egg coffee, although it sounds a little strange... I would love to try!
I enjoyed trying Vietnamese coffee when I was in Ho Chi Minh. I've not heard of the egg coffee but if you say it tastes like tiramisu then I'm definitely keen!
Anytime is Coffee time and love posts about Coffee. Vietnamese Coffee is indeed special. Isn't it amazing how many variants of this wonder beverage exist throughout the world. Each with its unique twist bu retaining the original flavour too.
This is probably my favourite coffee in the entire world! I really like the thick condense milk which adds this sweet lovely flavour. Man, those are some amazing memories from Vietnam! 🙂
xx finja
Wow this is a great post Im wondering how it tastes the egg coffee??
Aaa, looks delicious. I hope it was. We didn't find anything good while in Myanmar..
Great post I love coffee & I'm going to try coffee from Vietnam
Definitely something you shouldn't miss!
The egg coffee definitely sounds the most interesting! They all look great though, surprisingly!
Gotta love experimentation. Sometimes the results are awesome and sometimes not so much. 🙂
I have never tried Vietnamese coffee, looks like I need to! I have never heard of egg coffee, I can't believe it takes like tiramisu! 🙂
I was surprised. In fact the bitter taste that the coffee gives is a unique and pleasant experience.
These all look so amazing! I don't even drink coffee but this post made me want to!! Haha
I usually avoid coffee too but after Vietnam I am somewhat of an addict!
Oh wow, I'm intrigued by all the different types of coffee! Egg and yogurt would be so interesting to taste.
Starbucks would make a killing...