Vietnam grows its own coffee and it has a distinctive flavour. Coffee lovers will get taken on a whole new journey appreciating the coffee culture of Vietnam. In the south, the most common type of coffee is “Cà phê sữa đá” or coffee with ice and milk. The coffee itself is drip filtered, dark, rich and intensely strong. Only about 30ml sits on the bottom of a tall glass, then it’s combined with anywhere from 30-60ml of sweetened condensed milk, stirred and topped with ice. It’s like getting punched in the face by coffee and sugar at the same time, but somehow incredibly moreish. Perhaps it has something to do with the heat that makes this drink so refreshing, as it never quite tastes the same back in Australia.
In the north, you’re likely to come across “Cà Phê Giảng”, which is coffee with egg. Yep, egg yolks to be accurate. The coffee is drip filtered into a cup, then the egg yolks are heated and beaten with sweetened condensed milk to form a type of custard, which layers over the coffee. It’s super-rich, warm and tastes like a dessert. Delicious, but you wouldn’t have more than one (per day).