Well, it has happened: Starbucks has finally opened shop in the coffee capital of Asia! You may be wondering does Starbucks know Vietnamese coffee as well as the Vietnamese? How will it compete with the long-standing Trung Nguyen Coffee or Highlands Coffee? Will it hurt local coffee shops or will people continue to frequent roadside coffee stands? These are questions that will be answered only with time. In the meantime, let us teach you a little bit about coffee production in Vietnam and, more importantly, how to make a perfect Vietnamese coffee at home!
Fun Vietnamese Coffee Facts
- Vietnam is now the number one C. Robusta exporter in the world, beating out Brazil in 2012!
- Vietnam specializes in civet coffee! Yes, you read that right. Perhaps you have heard of weasel coffee? The weasel eats the finest coffee fruits and excretes the bean. It has a definite distinct taste and “weasel coffee” or “ca phe chon” is a delicacy enjoyed around the world!
- Vietnamese grown coffee beans are a major component in most grocery store instant coffee brands.
- Coffee producers in Vietnam are making an effort to grow the finer and more expensive C. Arabica in order to make Vietnam a coffee production powerhouse (if it isn’t one already).
- Ca phe sua, coffee with condensed milk on the bottom Vietnamese style, is delicious! Condensed milk was originally used in place of fresh milk because of difficulties with milk storage in a tropical climate, but we just think it’s genius.
From Farm to Home
Vietnam primarily grows the C. Robusta variety of coffee. The berries are manually picked during harvest season, which is usually from November to February. In the “dry method” of coffee production, the berries are directly dried without removing the fruit. Workers will sometimes walk over the drying fruit to press them down and turn them. The dried berries go to the mill to remove the outer layers until the bean is exposed. Vietnam mostly exports “green coffee”, which is the dried inner bean that has yet to be roasted.
How to Make the Perfect Cup of Vietnamese Coffee
These are the things you need to make Vietnamese coffee: a special kind of coffee filter called a “phin”, really strong and bitter coffee (traditionally the C. Robusta type of coffee is used which is naturally more bitter than other coffee types), and sweetened condensed milk.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of condensed milk at the bottom of the glass.
- Put the chamber of the phin on top of the glass and add 1.5 tablespoons of filter coffee.
- Place the press on top and push or screw it down to the level of the coffee grounds.
- Add a little bit of hot water to allow the grounds to swell.
- After a minute, add hot water up to the top of the chamber and put the lid on to keep everything hot.
- After 3-5 minutes of brewing, remove the whole phin and stir your milk and coffee creation.
- Enjoy your coffee piping hot or add a bit of ice for a hot summer’s day!
Give the coffee a few minutes to brew completely through the phin filter before enjoying a hot cup of coffee. Or, pour it over a cup of ice for a cold drink on a hot day!
If you want to discover more food specialties, you may want to join our Ho Chi Minh City food tour.
