Vietnamese iced coffee


Vietnamese iced coffee, also known as cà phê đá or cafe da is a traditional Vietnamese coffee recipe.
At its simplest, cà phê đá is made using medium to coarse ground dark roast Vietnamese-grown coffee with a small metal Vietnamese drip filter. After the hot water is added, the drip filter releases drops of hot coffee slowly into a cup. This finished cup of hot coffee is then quickly poured into a glass full of ice making the finished Vietnamese iced coffee.
A popular way to drink Vietnamese coffee is cà phê sữa đá, which is Vietnamese iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk. This is done by putting two to three tablespoons or more of sweetened condensed milk into the cup prior to the drip filter process.

History

Coffee was introduced into Vietnam in 1857 by a French Catholic priest in the form of a single Coffea arabica tree. Vietnam did not become a major exporter of coffee until the Đổi Mới reforms and opening of the economy after the war. Now, many coffee farms exist across the central highlands. Vietnam is now the largest producer of the Robusta variety of coffee and the second largest producer of coffee worldwide. The beverage was adopted with regional variations. Because of limitations on the availability of fresh milk, as the dairy farming industry was still in its infancy, the French and Vietnamese began to use sweetened condensed milk with a dark roast coffee.

Variations

Egg coffee

There is Vietnamese egg coffee called cà phê trứng that is served at cafes in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is made with brewed coffee, chicken egg yolk, and condensed milk. It has a similar taste and texture to tiramisu and eggnog.