If you love coffee then you will surely enjoy the Vietnamese Iced Coffee with milk and if you think it is just another coffee with milk and ice, you might want to continue reading. Just like any other Vietnamese cuisine, this coffee is an intricate art by itself.
What makes Vietnamese Iced Coffee special is not just the kind of coffee bean used but also the type of milk and the way they drip their coffee. Coffee lovers must try Vietnamese Iced Coffee!
What Makes Vietnamese Iced Coffee Special
There are a lot of reasons why the Vietnamese Iced Coffee is unique. First of all, the coffee beans used are grown in Vietnam and the beans used have to be the coarse ground dark roasted coffee beans.
To get the right consistency and flavour, Vietnamese coffee uses a special metal filter, also known as phin cap he. The coarse ground dark coffee is added to the filter and hot water is poured in, allowing the coffee to slowly drip into a mug. By not using any paper filter, all the essential oil from the coffee bean goes into the coffee, making Vietnamese Coffee a very potent mix.
Lastly, instead of using fresh milk, sweetened condensed milk is added to the iced coffee to give it a creamy and sweet flavour and balance out the bitterness from the potent coffee mixture. It is known amongst Vietnamese that certain condensed milk produce a better cap he sua than others. In order to ensure you get the best quality, use sweetened condensed milk that only uses milk and sugar as its ingredients.
The coffee can be enjoyed hot (Ca phe da) but the Ca Phe Sua is the best kind of coffee to enjoy in the hot Southeast Asian weather.
History of Vietnamese Coffee
Coffee was first introduced to Vietnam during the French colonisation in 1857. The Arabica coffee plant was introduced to the nation as a form of cultivating plantations that can be used as a tool to increase cash flow.
Coffee however, only became Vietnam’s major economic contributor after the war ended. During World War II, depopulation and government restriction caused coffee production to slow down.
It was only in the 1980s that the government gave permission for privately-owned enterprises to operate again. Despite being introduced with the Coffea Arabice, Vietnam is now the biggest producer of Robusta Coffee as it is easier to manage and the country exports about 1 million tonnes of coffee. Believe it or not, Vietnam is actually the second-largest producer of coffee worldwide, after Brazil.
Despite its abundance of coffee beans, Vietnam still lacks access to fresh farm milk. Therefore to make up for the scarcity, the people started replacing fresh milk with sweetened condensed milk to be served with a dark roast coffee and due to the humidity of the nation, the Vietnamese started to enjoy their coffee with ice.
Where can you get Ca Phe Sua in Malaysia
The Ca Phe Sua is a Vietnamese speciality so most Vietnamese restaurants in Malaysia would serve it. If you want the best of the best, get the Iced Vietnamese Drip Coffee with condensed milk from An Viet located at several locations including Gardens Midvalley and Sunway Pyramid or head to Mimi Nguyen Café in Puchong for an authentic Ca Phe Sua at a bargain price.
If you don’t want to step out of the house, get your Ca Phe Sua delivered to you using foodpanda!