Vietnam is the second most coffee producing country in the world.
But, when we talk about Vietnamese coffee, we’re not necessarily speaking about the coffee beans that come from Vietnam.
We’re usually always referring to an amazing coffee drink that includes the magic ingredient: sweetened condensed milk.
Sweetened condensed milk makes pretty much anything better. You could probably even put it on a napkin and I’d still think it tastes delicious…
Anyway, If you’ve never had the sweet treat of a beverage called “Vietnamese Coffee”… I’d say you’re missing out.
And whether you’ve had it and love it – or you’ve never tried it – and want to learn how to make it, you’ve come to the right place!
But, I’ll preface all of this by saying that even though this website is all about brewing coffee at home and almost anything to do with “home coffee culture”, sometimes it’s just wonderful to go out and buy coffee, or a fancy latte.
And so it is with Vietnamese coffee.
If you ever go to a Vietnamese restaurant (I love Vietnamese food, too), I’d highly recommend ordering a Vietnamese coffee from a restaurant.
It’s really an experience how they make it with a phin and everything.
Now, with all that being said, let’s get into what’s in Vietnamese coffee, and the best recipe to make your own at home!
What’s In Vietnamese Coffee…
I’ll be blunt, the ingredients of Vietnamese coffee are almost all too simple: coffee and sweetened condensed milk.
Now, there’s a little more to it than just making coffee and mixing it with sweetened condensed milk, but we’ll get there soon.
Just for some fun trivia, Vietnam produces about 90% robusta coffee beans, which are known for their slightly more bitter taste than arabica beans.
So, the amazing and sweet taste of sweetened condensed milk becomes a wonderful balance to the slightly bitter and robust taste of robusta beans.
That’s maybe how the Vietnamese came up with the wonderful combo.
It doesn’t mean you need to buy coffee that’s only robusta beans to make it, but it’s a great idea to make the coffee strong in any case.
But just because you know the simple ingredients that make this delicious coffee beverage, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s just as simple as mixing brewed coffee and sweetened condensed milk together.
With that being said, let’s look at the best recipe for how to make Vietnamese coffee!
How To Make Vietnamese Coffee
Here is the best recipe for Vietnamese coffee, along with some tips and tricks if you don’t want to buy a phin filter, etc.
If you want even more information on the recipe and tips for making Vietnamese coffee, you should check out this article, where I also got some information and inspiration from.
Again, the ingredients are simple. They are:
- Coffee (Vietnamese coffee is nice to use for this beverage i.e. Trung Nguyen brand, but not necessary)
- 1 – 3 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk (depends on how sweet or strong you want it)
*I receive commissions from purchases made through product links in this post. I sincerely appreciate if you use my links if you decide to buy something and help me in this way! And if not, no problem. To learn more click here. Coffee cheers!*
You can get sweetened condensed milk at most any grocery store, but if you want a great one, I suggest the one from the link above.
It’s nice when you make Vietnamese coffee to really get that authentic feeling!
Making this wonderful coffee drink is really in the preparation and brewing method.
Obviously, it’s the very best to make it authentically, with a phin coffee dripper. It’s not only authentic, but it’s just fun and has a nice cozy feel!
But here’s an important point: if you don’t have a phin that’s ok, but it’s nice to have a brewing method where you can brew the coffee right into the cup, such as AeroPress or a pour over dripper that is able to pour directly into a cup like a Hario V60.
Since there are different brewing methods you can use, I won’t use a detailed tutorial for any of them, but just a general step-by-step tutorial.
Now, with that being said, here are the brewing instructions:
- Heat the water and grind your coffee (or just get the coffee ready if it’s pre-ground)
- Pour condensed milk into your cup (use 1 tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk for a “regular” coffee, 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk for a sweet coffee, or 3 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk for the “Frappuccino” version)
- Put your coffee in the filter and bloom it
- Finish brewing the coffee into the mug
- Stir with a spoon and enjoy!
And there you have it! Simple as that.
Remember that you want to usually just make a single cup of coffee, so you should be pretty familiar with how much coffee grinds you enjoy for a single cup of coffee.
Also keeping in mind that there will be some really sweet stuff in there too!
But you can just take this recipe and run with it. It’s just a guideline to help you and you can of course try different things according to your liking.
I hope you enjoy it!
Closing
It’s cool to think that not only is Vietnam a huge coffee exporter, but they have their own signature beverage that tastes amazing!
And that’s coming from a guy who loves his coffee black and brewed strong.
Vietnamese coffee is a delicious treat because it has simple ingredients, it’s easy to make, and you just plain can’t go wrong with it.
However, in my opinion, it’s really not a daily driver as it can become too much at least in my opinion, kind of like Dalgona coffee…
It’s just nice though to have some go to drinks if you’re in the mood for something a little sweeter.
You don’t have to make Vietnamese coffee 100% authentic, only using a phin and a Vietnamese brand of sweetened condensed milk, but it certainly makes the experience that much more enjoyable and fun!
But it works just as well in my opinion as using AeroPress, which remains my favorite brewing method after years of being a coffee lover.
I hope this article has been helpful for you, and that you’ll love your Vietnamese coffee!
Be sure to try it at a Vietnamese restaurant if you get the chance also!
If you have any questions or comments please let me know in the comments section below. And with that, Vietnamese coffee cheers!
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