Drinking coffee is a vital part of Vietnamese culture. Cafe shops are on most corners of the streets, so it is easy to buy and taste a delicious Vietnamese coffee cup when you travel to Vietnam.
But, if you do not have a chance to visit this country, how can you make a few cups of Vietnamese coffee at home?
These simple steps guide you to make great coffee cups with a filter.
Steps to learn how to make Vietnamese coffee with a filter
If you want to see details of the Vietnamese coffee recipe in writing, please read it below.
Ingredients:
- Coffee powder. You can use Trung Nguyen Coffee in a bag or grind roasted coffee beans yourself.
- Sugar for back coffee.
- Sweet condensed milk. Choose a kind of milk specializing in coffee. To recognize it, you check on the can or box having a coffee cup or filter.
- Boil water.
- Ice.
Tools:
- 2 coffee filters (Phin Cà Phê in Vietnamese): 1 for back coffee and 1 for milk coffee. If you do one per time, just need one filter.
- 2 glasses.
Instructions:
Step 1: Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of coffee powder to each filter. If you want a strong taste, you can add more to ensure the thickness of the coffee cup. After you put it in the maker:
- Shake gently to spread the coffee evenly.
- Use the inside filters to compress them.
- Do not press too firmly.
Step 2: Pour 3 teaspoons of the condensed milk into a cup. The quantity of condensed milk can be more or less, depending on your taste.
For another cup to make black coffee, you do not add anything. Leave it empty!
Step 3: Put these filters on the glasses. Add a little boiling water to make them wet- just enough to make them all wet!!! This step warms up the coffee powder, creating a better flavor. Also, close the top and keep it for 30 minutes.
Step 4: Add boiling water into two filters that are nearly full of the filters. Close the top and wait for them to drip into the glasses.
From 10 – 15 minutes later, you will have delicious coffee cups to taste.
Step 5: For back coffee, you add sugar, stir it well, and add ice to make it a cup of iced coffee- Cà Phê Đen Đá in Vietnamese.
For milk coffee, stir the condensed milk you have added in advance at the bottom of the glass.
If you want to have “Cà Phê Sữa Đá” (Vietnamese Condensed Milk with Ice), add more ice to this glass.
All done! Now, it’s time to relax and enjoy the flavor of the coffee.
Please note that when you enjoy Vietnamese coffee, you should taste it slowly, not fast – sip by sip. This is lazy coffee. -:)
How does coffee taste in different areas in Vietnam?
Coffee in North, Middle, and South Vietnam has different tastes.
The North people (typically in Hanoi) preferred tea to coffee because many famous and tasty teas in Vietnam have been planted in this region. Nowadays, they like coffee, especially “Cà Phê Trứng” (Egg Coffee), including coffee, egg yolk, condensed milk, and chocolate. The taste is not bad.
In the South (especially in Saigon), people like condensed milk coffee with ice, called “Cà Phê Sữa Đá” because the weather is hot all year round.
In Middle Vietnam, local people enjoy black coffee made with a filter (in Vietnamese, it is phin). Sometimes, they add condensed milk to make “Cà Phê Sữa” (Condensed Milk Coffee). However, Condensed Milk Coffee in Central Vietnam is different from this type of southern style: it has a strong coffee taste, milk, and a little ice.
How do the Vietnamese people drink coffee?
The way you enjoy Vietnamese coffee is significant. You should take a cup of coffee, sip a little, and swallow slowly.
So why do Vietnamese people sip coffee slowly instead of drinking quickly? This thing is based on culture and slow life.
Vietnamese people enjoy coffee in the morning, usually after breakfast, and in the evening, after dinner.
Many men are in coffee shops in the morning, although it’s time for them to work in the office.
Are they lazy?
They rest briefly before working to open their mind, chat, and meet friends. They can also discuss their business and create new ideas while tasting a cup of coffee.
And, in the evening, you can see more women and children in the coffee shops. It is because, in the morning, most women have to go to the market and children go to school; not fair, isn’t it? They have more free time at night. So, the husbands have to give them time to take them to relax at the coffee shops.
An exciting point is that coffee shops often serve a cup of tea next to a coffee cup. When you swallow the coffee, its flavor is sharply bitter and sweet, making you feel thick. Therefore, drink tea to balance your taste, avoid dryness in your mouth and throat, and clean the heavy taste of coffee.
In general, most Vietnamese people drink coffee very slowly. They can spend 1 to 3 hours at the coffee stores because they like to chat, observe the world going up and down, and enjoy the fresh air. That also shows the community cohesion in Vietnam’s culture.
Will you make and taste a cup of coffee at home or travel to Vietnam to enjoy it?
