I had recently read about Vietnamese coffee in Standart and it had left my mind until recently Sumit, an acquaintance who I meet every time I pop over at DMCC for a coffee tasting event, shared a story on Instagram. It featured a peculiar silver dripper I haven’t seen before.

He said that this is how Vietnamese coffee is brewed and warned me that the beans are roasted really dark which meant it’ll not be the same as specialty coffee. It was interesting enough to note down the details of the place and try it out just for experiences’ sake.

The restaurant is in Jumeirah Lake Towers and it’s called Saigon. The Vietnamese drink a lot of coffee, and they like it strong. What pairs well this coffee is sweet condensed milk, which counters that bitter taste of the coffee.

I have fond memories of condensed milk and it is used excessively in my household mainly in sweets, and consuming a few spoons of it now and then was a treat. This was years and years ago when life was more nonchalant and there was no care in the world.

The traditional way of brewing a Vietnamese coffee is by using something called a phin. This is a super-small dripper enough to brew perhaps 120-150g of coffee and it is generally made of aluminum or stainless steel.

Traditionally, Robusta beans are used and as mentioned, roasted dark. The coffee filter is placed on top of a glass as shown in the video above. Ground coffee is placed inside the filter by lifting the lid and pressed gently similar to a tamper.

Small amount of hot water closer to boil is poured to moisten the Coffee ground. No, there is no blooming process involved here. After a few seconds, the filter is topped up with hot water. No measurement of the water is taken, and it all depends on the size of the dripper.

The whole brewing process will take about 5-10 minutes, and served with a side of condensed milk. The amount can differ and is added to the coffee based on how sweet you want your coffee to taste.

Everybody’s palette is different and a lot of people might find this bitter and strong. But for me, it was not strong but it was strangely not bitter either. It had wonderful aromas of cloves and spice a little dry towards the end of the sip. Prominent roasty notes with some caramel, nuts and dark chocolate.

Yes, I did add condensed milk towards the end just for the experience, and it was not to my liking. Perhaps in the iced version, I would enjoy it more. What I want to try next is egg coffee, which is also a specialty of Vietnam, also known as ca phe trung. Whisked egg yolks, condensed milk and coffee. Dessert.

If you know where I can find this in the UAE, please let me know in the comments below.