The first time I had a Vietnamese coffee made and served the traditional way was in USA We were visiting friends who suggested what turned out to be a great Vietnamese restaurant. It served big, flavorful bowls of pho and Vietnamese grilled pork chops with rice noodles (we have a similar Vietnamese noodle salad recipe).
The food was great, but on a whim, I ordered a cup of Vietnamese hot coffee (cà phê sữa nóng), and I was hooked!
HOW IS VIETNAMESE COFFEE BREWED?
The Vietnamese coffee was rich, flavorful, sweet and perfect on a cool day, but the method for brewing and serving the coffee is what really impressed me. The coffee was brought out with a layer of condensed milk at the bottom of a small, clear thick glass, with a stainless steel Phin Vietnamese filter sitting on top.
The coffee was already dripping into the glass and mixing in with the condensed milk. My friend ordered a Vietnamese iced coffee (cà phê sua dá), so he had the same setup along with another glass filled with ice.
When our coffees were done dripping, we stirred them to combine the coffee and condensed milk. Mine was ready to enjoy. My friend poured his coffee into the glass full of ice, and voila!
As coffee addicts even before this experience, we had to go to the one Asian market in town to buy some of those Vietnamese style stainless steel coffee filters (Phin filters) so we could make our own Vietnamese coffee recipe.
We also got our hands on some of the Vietnamese coffee that the restaurant used. My friend he has been using Bach coffee brand of ground Vietnamese coffee, it has a deep rich flavor with just a tiny hint of hazelnut flavor.
HOW TO MAKE A CUP OF COFFEE ?
Here’s what you’ll need:
3 tablespoons Vietnamese ground coffee (we used Bach coffee brand)
1-3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk.
6-8 ounces water that is close to boiling point, depending on your desired coffee strength
We used the Bach coffee brand of ground coffee for this Vietnamese coffee recipe, but you can use any good French roast coffee, too.
Our Vietnamese Phin coffee filters are the 6-ounce size, but they come in different sizes depending upon your brewing needs. Alternatively, you can use a French coffee press or your favorite drip coffee method.
We received a suggestion from one of our readers to rinse the phin filter and the cup with/in hot boiling water so the coffee will bloom and drop better. It cleans and pre-heats the filter and it works!
Measure 3 tablespoons of ground coffee, and distribute it evenly into the filter.
DO NOT shake the filters or compress the coffee, or the coffee grounds will drop into the holes of the coffee filter and plug up the holes! The result will be that the coffee takes forever to drip, or the grounds may clog the filter entirely. Place the metal filter gently on top of the coffee.
Pour 1-3 tablespoons of condensed milk into your coffee mug or heatproof glass.
Measure out 6 ounces of near boiling water. Use 8 ounces if you don’t like your coffee with such a strong kick in the pants.
Pour two tablespoons of hot water into the filter and wait for 5 seconds to “bloom” the coffee. This is the part of the brewing process when the water releases CO2 from the coffee and the grounds expand.
Next, press on the filter gently to compress the bloomed coffee. This helps slow down the drip rate when you use all of your water. It also makes for a more flavorful coffee.
With these steps, you’ll be able to achieve the optimum brewing time. Slowly pour the rest of the water into the filter. The coffee will begin dripping into your cup or glass.
Wait about 5 minutes for the coffee to finish drip brewing!
Remove the filter, and stir to mix in the condensed milk. The amount of condensed milk you use is a very personal decision but here are my personal recommendations:
Remove the filter, and stir to mix in the condensed milk. The amount of condensed milk you use is a very personal decision but here are my personal recommendations:
1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk for a regular coffee
2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk for a sweet coffee
3 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk; your coffee will taste closer to a caramel coffee hard candy, and sometimes there ain’t nothin’ wrong with that!
Enjoy your Vietnamese hot coffee (cà phê sữa nóng)! To make a Vietnamese iced coffee (cà phê sua dá), pour your coffee over a glassful of ice once it has been brewed and stirred.
