Cà Phê Sữa (Vietnamese Coffee)

Is anyone obsessed with their morning coffee like I am? But not just any coffee, it has to be an authentic Vietnamese coffee. It gives me a very much needed boost to get my day going. The first time my husband had Vietnamese coffee, he didn’t quite understand what all the rage was about…until he found himself up at night because the caffeine was still surging through his body 🤣. So today I’m going to show you how easy it is to make your own Vietnamese coffee in the comfort of your home.

Equipment used to make cà phê sữa?

I’m sure you’ve heard of Vietnamese coffee before, but what exactly is it? It reminds me of french press coffee but the french press we use is called a phin (a.k.a. Vietnamese coffee press). It doesn’t have to be fancy in order for it to be effective. I got mine at the local Asian grocery store. No worries if you don’t have a local Asian store where you are, you can purchase a phin online. The phin is made up of the plate, body, press disk and lid.

“Secret” ingredient in Vietnamese coffee?

The main difference between Vietnamese coffee and American coffee is the use of condensed milk. Yes, you read correctly, we use condensed milk in our coffee and it makes it tastes oooohh sooo good. There are many different brands of condensed milk. I just bought this one because that’s what we used in Vietnam.

Why use condensed milk instead of fresh milk? Vietnam was colonized by the French back in the day so a lot of our traditions came from the French. This includes the use of condensed milk in coffee. Why? The reason was because fresh milk was not easily accessible. When I was growing up in Vietnam, we didn’t have the luxury of going to the diary section in a grocery store and grabbing a carton of milk. On occasions where we wanted fresh milk, it had to be delivered. Even then it was mainly goat milk and it had to be boiled prior to drinking.

What coffee should I use?

Any ground coffee will do, but the most favored brand used in most Vietnamese houses is the Cafe Du Monde coffee. Why? Because the combination of coffee and chicory in Cafe Du Monde gives the most authentic taste to the actual coffee beans grown in Vietnam.

Out of 131 different species of coffee, there are two that are cultivated and used on a global scale. Those two are arabica coffee and robusta coffee. One of the top global producers of robusta coffee is…you guessed it, Vietnam. It is said that robusta is the hardier of the two. It is able to thrive in a wider range of climates.

I was delighted today when I found the decaf version of Cafe Du Monde at the local Asian grocery store. I have never ever seen it prior to today. So of course, I got one of each 🤣. If you can’t get Cafe Du Monde at your local Asian grocery store, you can get it here.

The other ingredients include water and ice (optional). Because the condensed milk is so sweet, there’s no need to add sugar.

Putting it all together

I don’t know about other people, but I have a designated coffee glass for making Vietnamese coffee. Something transparent that I can see through. There’s something about being able to see the condensed milk and the coffee layer on top. It brings me back to life in Vietnam.

Place the coffee phin on top of the glass. Place the coffee grounds inside the coffee phin then place the press disk on top. Pour enough hot water until it covers the coffee ground. Approximately an inch. Wait for 30 seconds then fill the coffee phin to the top with hot water. Now all you need to do is patiently wait for the coffee to drip from the phin into your mug below. Of course the amount of condensed milk you add is up to you. For a sweeter tasting coffee, add more condensed milk.

After the coffee is finished dripping, remove the coffee phin on top and give the condensed milk and freshly brewed coffee a good stir. If you are an ice coffee drinker, let the coffee cool first before adding the ice. This is to not dilute your coffee. Traditionally, Vietnamese like to drink their cà phê sữa with crushed ice. Probably because it is always so hot there. I like to alternate between ice (summer) and hot (winter). The word for ice in Vietnamese is đá. So if you’re drinking iced cà phê sữa in the summer, you’d be drinking cà phê sữa đá. However if you’re just drinking hot Vietnamese coffee, it’s just plain cà phê sữa.

What to serve with Vietnamese coffee?

In America we think of coffee as a morning routine or an after dinner drink. Rarely do I see people here drink their coffee with their meals (except at breakfast). However, in Vietnam or if you visit a Vietnamese restaurant, you will see people having their cà phê sữa (đá) with their meals.

A common breakfast pairing would be a bowl of Vietnamese soup (phở) and iced Vietnamese coffee (cà phê sữa đá). Check out my quick and easy Vietnamese soup (phở) recipe here.

A delicious lunch pairing for cà phê sữa (Vietnamese coffee) is the Vietnamese sandwich (a.k.a. bánh mì). If you are looking to make the Vietnamese sandwich at home, check out my recipe here.

So the next time you need a pick me up, give this cà phê sữa (Vietnamese coffee) recipe a try.

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