If you have been to Vietnam or even a Vietnamese restaurant, you will have encountered a traditional Vietnamese coffee.
These small, strong coffees are served across Vietnam and are a cornerstone of Vietnamese culture. Morning noon and night, residents of towns and cities across Vietnam can be seen drinking coffee in this style.
Let’s take a look at exactly what makes Vietnamese coffee so unique.
A Mixture of Filter and Immersion Methods
The small metal filter used for Vietnamese coffee (called a phin) is a simple device that allows you to brew a cup of coffee just about anywhere.
It has a main chamber for coffee and water over a simple filter and is used for a single-serve of coffee at a time.
Although the water filters through the coffee, it does so slowly, giving a unique flavor profile halfway between an immersion method like the French Press and a filter method like the V60.
A Strong Full Flavoured Coffee
Vietnamese is served in small glass tumblers that are placed underneath the phin filter to catch the dripping coffee.
The resulting brew is around 50ml in volume, which is akin to a double shot of espresso. However, it does not have the clean extraction of espresso, maintaining the body and ‘muddiness’ of an immersion or filter brew.
While it is routinely served hot and black, it can also have milk or condensed milk added or be poured over ice.
A Specific Type of Coffee
While most coffee brewing methods use the Arabica bean, Vietnamese coffee traditionally uses Robusta beans.
This coffee variety yields larger beans with higher caffeine content and is often dark roasted. This gave the final brew a nutty, rich profile with an added hit of bitterness due to the caffeine.
A Departure From Tradition
These days, many coffee shops and producers are looking to move on from some of these traditional practices.
Belvico is leading the way in promoting high-quality, specialty roasted Vietnamese coffee. They are focused on using both Arabica and Robusta beans with a broader flavor profile that is accentuated with a medium roast.
Try some Belvico coffee for yourself today and see how traditions can be fused with modern techniques to create a fantastic cup of coffee!
