What does Vietnamese iced coffee taste like?
Vietnamese iced coffee tastes like strong, dark coffee and sweet condensed milk: bold and chocolatey, intensely sweet and creamy, with a bitter kick underneath.
Vietnamese iced coffee
strong coffee, very sweet
Vietnamese iced coffee, cà phê sữa đá, is dark-roast coffee slowly dripped through a small metal filter called a phin, straight onto a layer of sweetened condensed milk, then stirred and poured over ice. The coffee is strong and bitter, often with a chocolatey, roasted flavor (Vietnam grows a lot of robusta, a bolder bean). The condensed milk makes it thick, creamy and very sweet. Together they taste like a coffee caramel or a mocha without the chocolate. It's powerful, so it's usually served in a smaller glass than you'd expect.
Where you’ll see it
At Vietnamese restaurants and banh mi shops, served over ice, sometimes with the phin still dripping on top of the glass. Black versions without milk are also common.
Order it if you like strong coffee and a sweet, creamy treat at the same time.
Quick questions
- Why is Vietnamese coffee so strong?
- It is brewed slowly through a phin with a lot of grounds, and often made with robusta beans, which are bolder and higher in caffeine.
- Is Vietnamese iced coffee very sweet?
- Yes. The sweetened condensed milk makes it one of the sweeter coffee drinks, though the strong coffee keeps it from tasting like candy.