Is Vietnamese iced coffee really worth to try?

[wscafe]

Hi all,


I am a coffee fan from Vietnam. In here, Vietnamese Iced Coffee with Condensed Milk (or 'Ca phe sua da') is very popular. You can find it in a coffee shop with different styles. It is considered as a traditional coffee recipe of Vietnam. Vietnamese loves it, of course. Many foreign visitors claim that they love 'ca phe sua da', too. That's why many Vietnamese people believe that 'ca phe sua da' is the world's most special coffee drink. However, I doubt that it is not such a very famous drink. First of all, I think it can't be healthy as condensed milk contains a lot of sugar. And too much sugar is not good for your health. Secondly, as it is brewed from Vietnamese dripper (or phin filter) and this is a very old brewer of the world. Coffee itself is not fully extrated by phin.


Haven't you ever tried Vietnamese Iced Coffee with Condensed Milk yet? What is your real feelings? And comments?


For those who don't know 'ca phe sua da', here is "how to make Vietnamese Iced Coffee" to find out more.
You can see the phin (Vietnamese dripper) here.

Or, this is the image of phin. Look at it. Very simple!!!

 

[sidg]

I've had the Vietnamese Iced Coffee and enjoy it. From my perspective the hard part is getting close to the taste with the equipment that is already present in a coffee shop while being able to get the drink out in a time expected by the customer.
Some people will make their own at home but don't know what they are missing if they don't have a way to try it.
I would be glad to hear from others in a coffee shop setting of how they make it happen in their setting.

 

[wscafe]

I've had the Vietnamese Iced Coffee and enjoy it. From my perspective the hard part is getting close to the taste with the equipment that is already present in a coffee shop while being able to get the drink out in a time expected by the customer.
Some people will make their own at home but don't know what they are missing if they don't have a way to try it.
I would be glad to hear from others in a coffee shop setting of how they make it happen in their setting.

It's very nice to hear that you love Vietnamese iced coffee, too. I think there are three main points which decide the typical taste of 'ca phe sua da':

1. The coffee to be used. To make featured Vietnamese iced coffee, a brewer must use typically 100% robusta coffee beans (blendings between robusta and arabica including 80% robusta vs 20% arabica or 70% robusta vs 20% arabica vs 10% robusta peaberry also work well). These coffee beans must be roasted into dark or super dark (aka French roast) in which the bean will be bitter and full-bodied, low acidity. Many home brewers may use light/medium roasted beans and thus, the brewed coffee liquid is not strong enough.
2. The proper usage of Vietnamese drippers (aka phin filters). To get most usage of phin filters, it'd better to warm the filter up before put coffee powder inside for brewing. It is important because the hot water will reserve its hotness to brew coffee powder instead of warming the phin's body. So, hot water will focus on brewing coffee powder only and get the best extracted coffee liquid. If you don't warm the phin in advance, hot water will not be hot enough to come through the phin and drop down to the cup.
3. Particle size of coffee powder and its amount. The right size of coffee powder should be raw, I mean, not too much fine. The particle size should be at around 0.7mm in diameter. If they are too fine, the hot water cannot come through them. The amount to be used is also important. If we put a lot of coffee powder inside the dripper, it simply that coffee will be got stuck. And thus, we will not have a right cup of 'ca phe sua da'.

One more thing is that coffee shop brewers often brew coffee in the night before and cool them down by keeping them in a fridge before serving them in next day's morning.

 

[bogoonthegogo]

I have recently tried it after dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant, usually i like to drink my coffee/expresso straight up or with some water like an Americano since i enjoy the taste. However i feel like the condensed milk was necessary since the coffee was so bitter and it offered the contrast. Dont think i would be able to drink it straight up. But nonetheless enjoyed it.

 

[wscafe]

Some foreign coffee drinkers told me that they felt Vietnamese iced coffee 'different'. That means it is a taste of difference. Some said it was unsual and unpredictable. Did you feel the same?