Cà Phê Sữa Đá

Vietnamese Iced Coffee

What is cà phê sữa đá?

Cà phê sữa đá is an intensely rich, dark, sweet traditional Vietnamese iced coffee drink. It is uniquely characterized by a combination of a dark roast coffee brewed with a small metal drip filter, called a phin, mixed with sweetened condensed milk.

History

Coffee was first introduced into Vietnam by French colonists in the late 19th century when a French Catholic priest brought an Arabica tree to northern Vietnam. However, it wasn't until the early 1900's when the industry really started to boom after the Robusta bean was introduced to the country's central highlands, where the region's climate and soil provided optimal coffee-growing conditions.

Vietnam did not become a major exporter of coffee until the Doi Moi economic reforms of 1987. Today, Vietnam is the largest producer of the Robusta variety and the 2nd largest exporter of coffee, accounting for approximately 20% of the world's total production of coffee.

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Making Vietnamese drip coffee

To brew cà phê sữa đá, you will need:

Vietnamese coffee grounds (Cafe Du Monde)
Sweetened condensed milk (Longevity Brand)
Vietnamese coffee press (Phin)
Ice