Preparing delicious Vietnamese coffee is quick and easy! It is stronger than American coffee, weaker than espresso and just perfect. You do need a special gadget called a phin filter which is made of stainless steel and has four parts (filter, plate, screw-on or push damper and lid). You can find it online or in any asian grocery store.

Ca Phe Sua Nong – Hot Coffee
Ca Phe Sua Da – Iced Coffee

2-3 teaspoons Coarse Ground Coffee (use a strong roast suitable for espresso)
3 heaping teaspoons Sweetened Condensed Milk
Hot Water (almost to a boil)
Vietnamese Coffee Filter – Phin Filter
Small bowl to use as a bain marie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Put water into your kettle and let it come to a boil. Take off the heat while you get everything ready. You want the temp to go to 180-190 for best flavor

 

Put a glass into a small bowl

 

This is the best brand of sweetened condensed milk to use for this coffee

 

Spoon the sweetened condensed milk into a glass

 

This is what it looks like if you are just pouring it instead of measuring it out with a spoon

 

Put the plate on the glass

 

This is the recommended band of coffee

 

Spoon the coffee in the filter

 

Tap it to make the grounds level

 

Next grab the damper. This one is a screw on type

 

Screw the screen back on until it stops which will compact the grounds

 

Unscrew 2 rotations

 

Place filter on the glass with the milk and pour boiling water into the bowl to heat the milk and glass

 

Pour just enough hot water to cover the grounds

 

This is about how much water to add and then you are going to let it sit for about 20 seconds

 

This is what it looks like after 20 seconds. The grounds have absorbed the water and are now ready to brew a perfect cup of coffee

 

Pour hot water to the top of the filter

 

Put the cover on to hold in the heat and let sit until water has gone all the way through filter

 

The brewing process should take about 4 minutes

 

Remove the lid

 

Take the filter and put onto the lid to catch any drips

 

Serve it just like this… isn’t it pretty

 

To drink just stir the condensed milk into the coffee and enjoy Ca Phe Sua Nong – Hot Coffee!

 

To have iced coffee grab a glass of ice

 

Pour the hot coffee over the ice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy – Ca Phe Sua Da – Iced Coffee!

 

Especially enjoyable while reading a terrific book! This one was written by my friend Larry Flaxman. You can find out more about him at this link http://paraexplorers.com/index.php?page=home

 

To clean the filter dump the grounds, rinse and dry