An introduction to Vietnamese coffee

It is said that in 1857, a French Catholic priest first brought coffee to Vietnam. However, Vietnam didn't become a major coffee exporter until the country opened its economy to the world through a political and economic renewal campaign (“Đổi Mới”) in 1986. Now, there are many coffee plantations in the central highlands of Vietnam, thanks to the region's climate and soil conditions ideal for growing coffee. Vietnam now dominates the coffee industry in Southeast Asia and is the Number 1 producer of Robusta coffee in the world.

People typically think of “Vietnamese coffee” as the iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk (“cà phê sữa đá”), made with a Vietnamese coffee drip filter (“phin cà phê”). This popular beverage came about when there was not much fresh milk available in Vietnam, so the French and Vietnamese began to stir their dark roast coffee with sweetened condensed milk and pour over crushed ice to enjoy during hot weather. 

Vietnamese coffee is generally very strong because the majority of the coffee made in Vietnam is from Robusta beans. Although “cà phê sữa đá” is widely seen as “traditional Vietnamese coffee,” the locals enjoy many other ways of making coffee accordingly to various regions and climates throughout the year. You can even find Vietnamese egg coffee (“cà phê trứng”) in many cafes in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. It is made with Robusta coffee, egg yolk, and sweetened condensed milk. People typically compare the taste and texture of Vietnamese egg coffee to those of tiramisu or eggnog.

Robarica Coffee has a range of Vietnamese coffee products. Visit the Robarica Coffee store on Amazon to purchase.