Vietnamese iced coffee (cà phê sữa đá) is not just a beverage; it’s an experience. After the inner child in you fills a glass almost halfway through with luscious condensed milk, you let the ambrosial coffee seep slowly through a french drip filter. Then…you wait. With each drip, your nostrils fill with sweet aroma and agonize in anticipation. Nothing but pleasant exchanges between you and your wake up call. No tattooed baristas yelling a bastardized version of your name across an agitated crowd that should have received their orders five minutes ago. No fumbling over the counter only to find that they’re out of half and half. No need for fluffy modifiers like “nonfat,” “light blended,” “no foam,” “extra shot,” and “skinny.” And then the moment you’ve been waiting for: the last coffee drop arrives. You take your spoon to craft a marbled masterpiece and reward your taste buds with sweet, sweet decadence.
Vietnamese Iced Coffee (1 serving)
• 2 tbsp coarsely ground coffee & chicory
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 -2 cups hot water
• ice
1. Fill your desired coffee cup at least a third of the way full with condensed milk. I like my coffee really sweet so I fill it up almost halfway! I also like using a glass cup so I can watch the magic happen.
2. Place the french drip filter over your glass and add coffee. A dark roast is usually used since the condensed milk is such a strong sweetener. You will actually find that coffee with chicory is the traditional choice when making Vietnamese coffee. After the French civil war, coffee was a scarce crop and the French soon realized that chicory, a bitter plant root, enhances the flavor of coffee (and adds packaging weight) at little cost. Considering that Vietnamese cuisine is so heavily influenced by French culture after years of colonization, it is no wonder that chicory eventually made its way into Vietnam’s coffee cups.
3. Place the filter lid over the coffee and pack the grinds down tightly. Don’t worry if a few grinds fall through the filter.
4. Pour hot water into the filter over the lid. (Obviously don’t try to pour boiling hot water with one hand while taking a picture with the other like I did.)
5. Continue to pour more water until you brew enough coffee to reach the brim of your cup.
6. Stir condensed milk and coffee. Let your artistic side come out for 10 seconds.
7. Add ice and fun straws. Tada! Happiness in a cup.
