10 Must Try Different Types of Coffee in Vietnam

The more I travel, the more I appreciate coffee. One of my favorite things to do when I get to a new city is wander around and stop into little cafes to experience the local coffee creations and get a feel for the local café vibes. You’d be hard pressed to find anywhere in the world with a more vibrant café culture than Vietnam. The thing I love the most about it is that it’s coffee for the sake of coffee—not for the sake of caffeine. I think many of us settle for uninspired bland coffee because it’s simply the fuel and caffeine fix we need to get through our day. There’s a reason Dunkin Donuts slogan is “America Runs on Duncan.” Of course I find myself benefitting from the caffeine effects of coffee  here in Vietnam too, but usually that’s just a welcome side-effect but not the end in itself. The end in itself is two-fold: to appreciate the richness and flavor of the delicious beverage, and to socialize. A real Vietnamese café is a little open air shop with little plastic tables and stools spilling out into the street. There you will find Vietnamese people of all ages slowly sipping thick brown coffee while chatting animatedly with each other. You can’t find the Dunkin Donuts drive-throughs here. You’ll find it difficult to get a 64oz take-away gas station coffee here. And that’s all for the better in my opinion.

Here is a list of some of the most common coffee creations that are popular in Vietnam. Of course, there are many variations and many cafes will have their own signature coffee drinks, but these are some standard styles that I’ve found consistently all over Vietnam. After experiencing coffee in Vietnam, you’ll find it hard to go back to your “French Vanilla K-Cups.”

Caphe Sua—Vietnamese milk coffee.This is the most classic and also probably my favorite type of coffee in Vietnam. Since most parts of Vietnam are hot and humid most of the year, the most popular method for drinking this coffee is Iced. When you order coffee with milk in Vietnam, you won’t be getting what you expect. In Vietnam, “milk” means “sweetened condensed milk.” You won’t believe how delicious it is in Vietnamese coffee. They pour a healthy amount of Condensed milk into the bottom of the glass, fill it with ice, then pour in quantity of extremely strong concentrated fresh Vietnamese black coffee. They serve it with a spoon. Stir it up and sip it slowly savoring the taste. Depending on who makes your coffee, it’s usually the perfect amount of sweet. You get that rich dark and nutty coffee taste, but the condensed milk cute the bitterness and lightly sweetens the coffee giving it a more complex and full-bodied flavor. It’s indescribable. And trust me—you black coffee fanatics haven’t ever had real strong coffee until you’ve tried it Vietnamese style. You’ll be wishing for the condensed milk before long.

Craft Coffee: like many places in the world, Vietnam has a burgeoning craft coffee scene. If you’re hankering for something a little more high-brow and if you’re seeking more than just a caffeine fix, you will have your pick of the many craft coffee shops and roasteries that can be found all over Vietnam. If you love your coffee as much as I do, you’ll enjoy the bean to cup experience. You can see how the café transforms the raw beans into the seductive silky espresso you are sipping. For something light—try the Aeropress. For something medium bodied, try the Syphon, for the richest most robust option, go with the French press. One of my favorite spots in DaLat is: Viet Café. When I arrived and was browsing the menu, I embarked on an internal struggle—I was really craving a quality latte, but I really wanted to experience the flavor of their house-roasted beans so I was considering trying one of their craft options. While I was making up my mind, one of the staff brought me a beautifully decorated latte and set it in front of me with a smile. It was my lucky day. They were having a latte art competition and so I got to drink their art project on the house. Of course, then, I promptly ordered my aero press, so in the end I got it all for the price of one. Dreams really do come true. And of course, you can get amazingly delicious Espresso Based coffees everywhere.

Yogurt Coffee: this one isn’t as prevalent as Caphe Sua, but it’s very unique and absolutely delicious. The bottom of the glass is filled with crushed ice, then a giant dollop of creamy freshly-made yogurt that is just lightly sweetened. Then they pour the extremely strong concentrated Vietnamese coffee on top. Mix it all together, and it’s almost a coffee smoothie. You get tanginess from the yogurt and the richness from the coffee but the creaminess from the yogurt cuts the acidity. It’s delightful.

Weasel Coffee—I still don’t know who decided that the poop of certain animals makes coffee more delicious, but poop coffee can now be found in many coffee hubs around the world and people eagerly slurp it down. Of course I tried the Civet coffee in Laos, but in Vietnam, Weasels seem to be their animal of choice. They feed the weasel the coffee cherries. The weasels eat and digest the fruit, but pass the beans in their stool which is then harvested, aged, and roasted and ground up and served to you in a steaming mug. YUMMMY. Are you brave enough to try it?

Image Obtained from: https://everywhereplease.com

Coconut Coffee—one of my all time favorite combinations. Coffee and cocnut. You are in the tropical land of Vietnam where coconuts seem to be hanging from every tree—why not put it in your coffee? My favorite type of coconut coffee is the coconut latte where they use fresh coconut milk instead of milk to make the latte. The result—all the richness and creaminess of the latte with the nutty dark taste of the espresso, but the coconut adds that tropical buttery and sweet richness that just elevates the coffee to the next level. Of course you can get it sweetened, but my favorite is just a plain coconut latte with no sugar. AMAZING! You can get this coffee anywhere–all over Vietnam.

This coconut Latte was enjoyed at, “The Note” Cafe in Hanoi where you get a personalized Note with your coffee. One of the best Lattes I’ve ever had!

Banana Coffee—if there’s one fruit more common in Southeast Asia than Coconuts, it’s bananas. I’ve only tried the banana iced coffee, but it was BANANAS—get it? It’s basically just iced coffee with banana puree. If you like bananas and you like coffee, then you’ll love this tropical creation.

This s*** is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Frappe: as with many things in Vietnam, when you order food or drink, it’s always an adventure seeing how they will interpret your order. You really never know what you’re going to get. You’ll order something and something totally different or unexpected might come out of the kitchen. Sometimes this can be frustrating, but usually it all works out. When I ordered an Iced Coconut Latte at a café in Hanoi, I was expecting a coconut latte poured over ice. Instead what I got was closer to a bowl of ice cream. Sure there was coconut, and coffee, but also a lot of ice and other ingredients all blended together and it was served to me in a bowl with a spoon. But I aint even mad bruh, It was delicious.

Filter Coffee: this is almost like a mini combo between drip coffee and French press and this is an extremely common way of drinking coffee in Vietnam. You get a glass with some condensed milk in the bottom, then they plop this little silver filter on top. It’s filled with fresh ground coffee and boiling water. Don’t order this one in a rush because it will ever so slowly drip through the filter into your glass. The result: extremely flavorful, concentrated coffee.

Cinnamon Coffee:  while this one may not be readily available ALL over Vietnam, it is growing in popularity. As if Cà Phê Sữa đá (Vietnamese Iced Milk Coffee) was not already amazing enough, when you add the cinnamon, you won’t believe the flavor. It’s like the beverage version of a cinnamon roll. You still get the nutty bitterness of the coffee, with the creamy sweetness of the Sweetened Condensed Milk, and then the cinnamon just knocks it out of the park. The ULTIMATE place to get this amazing creation is the cafe: Loading T in Hanoi. The owner roasts his own beans with the cinnamon and grinds a special cinnamon coffee blend. We’re way beyond a dash of cinnamon on your latte folks, this is the real deal!

Egg Coffee: one of Hanoi’s most iconic creations, it’s on every travelers bucket list when they come to Hanoi. Of course, the popularity of this drink means that it’s now available all over the country, but trust me, you have to try it in Hanoi. It’s just not the same other places. Basically what you have is a small amount of extremely strong black Vietnamese coffee in the bottom of your mug comprising about 1/4^th of the beverage. The rest of the mug is filled with this sweet egg concoction which is made from heavily whipped raw eggs and sugar. It’s almost like a cross between a meringue and a custard. As you sip, the bitter coffee contrasts nicely with the sweet egg foam. This really is more of a dessert drink so I don’t think it will be replacing your morning cup of joe, but you simply can’t leave Vietnam without trying it.

The Legendary Egg Coffee: Probably Hanoi’s Most Famous Coffee Creation

Bonus: the further north you go in Vietnam, the more tea you will find. Personally I think this is dues in part to the Chinese influence. Thus, the closer you get to the China border, the more you will find yourself in Tea country. While you are squinting at the menu and agonizing over which delicious coffee creation you should order, you may be greeted with either a steaming or ice cold glass of freshly brewed tea to sip while you wait for your coffee. Of course the tea is steeped directly from the leaves which were picked locally. Vietnam also has a very Strong Tea culture in its own right.  Many restaurants and cafes offer unlimited tea on the house. This can be green tea, jasmine tea, herbal tea etc. You will get so used to having free tea, you’ll feel cheated if you ever have to pay for it.

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