Making the Classic Vietnamese Coffee

During the era of French colonialism, the Vietnamese took coffee and made it their own. Now everyone in Saigon drinks coffee, which is made one cup at a time, with a generous amount of ground coffee, and not in a hurry.

The Vietnamese like their “cà phê” sweet. Real sweet. As if spoonfuls of sugar weren’t enough, they also add sweetened condensed milk. This habit developed because canned condensed milk was easier for the French to import into the country than fresh milk, and the Vietnamese have just rolled with it.

I never sweeten my coffee, so I’ve had a hard time adjusting… Oh, what a liar, I don’t know why I even typed that! It took me like thirty seconds to adjust.

As they prepared to leave Saigon, Jürgen Horn and Mike Powell wanted to learn the secrets of the coffee they had grown to love. They got a barista at their favorite local cà phê shop to teach them how to make their own Vietnamese coffee. And armed with the proper coffee press, they are ready to move on. Where will they live next? Only time, and their first post from a new location, will tell.