5 Amazing Vietnamese Coffees You Must Definitely Try (2023)

Vietnamese coffee is at the heart of the country’s culture and daily life. You can find it in virtually every corner of every city at every hour. Such a strong culture is the result of French colonization, which brought the first coffee plantations in the 1800s. Today, Vietnam is the second largest coffee producer after Brazil, with 31 million 60-kg bags produced in 2023! Moreover, what’s more amazing is that Vietnam did not rise to top producer until the 1980s, when the Communist Party decided to invest in the sector, radically changing Vietnam’s economy and culture.
Vietnam coffee is mostly of the Robusta variety, characterized by a stronger taste and a higher presence of caffeine. Vietnamese people have been very creative with coffee-based drinks, creating a never-ending list of amazing coffees. Even each city has its own spin on the most beloved drink in the world.

During our stay in Vietnam we had the opportunity to try so many different drinks and foods. Coffee really stood out as a key travel companion during our entire trip, being one of the main reasons to visit and enjoy this beautiful country!

So, here are 5 amazing Vietnamese coffees you must definitely try (or make at home!).

1. Vietnamese Drip Coffee and Its Iced Variation – Cà phê phin / cà phê đá

The most common (and cheapest) type of coffee in Vietnam is Drip Coffee. It is also the basic ingredient for all the other coffee recipes you can find in Vietnam.
Vietnamese Drip Coffee is brewed through a traditional aluminum filter named phin. This particular brewing process takes some time (5-10 minutes), as each drop of water must pass through the filter and gently fall into the cup. Being used to the immediacy of espressos, we appreciated the laidback mood of Drip Coffee. Local people have it either hot or iced and tend to add a significant amount of sugar as it is pretty strong!

There are many different varieties of ground coffee sold everywhere in Hanoi and the main cities. So, the taste of each cup differs according to the chosen variety. We fell in love with a mix called Cà phê Đường Phố, which includes a little bit of chocolate powder into the ground coffee.

Where to taste it: Since it’s really available anywhere, you can just go to any café. For example, we had a very good one at Cà Phê Thủy Viên in My Tho (Mekong area).

📍Cà Phê Thủy Viên – 142 Phạm Thanh, Phường 5, Thành phố Mỹ Tho, Tiền Giang, Vietnam

2. Vietnamese Iced Coffee With Condensed Milk – Cà phê sữa đá

Take a normal black Drip Coffee and add condensed milk (sữa) and ice (đá), and you will get the iconic cà phê sữa đá, the Holy Trinity of Vietnamese coffee! This iced drink will easily become your most beloved one. It really is the perfect refreshment after a long day in Vietnam’s scorching heat. The addition of condensed milk both provides a pleasant and smooth texture to the coffee and partly sweetens the harsh taste of Vietnamese Robusta coffee

Where to taste it: if you are in Saigon, try to stop by Triple E Hotel’s bar, where they make an extremely good cà phê sữa đá, with a Saigon spin!


📍Triple E Hotel – 81 Đ. Nguyễn Thái Bình, Phường Nguyễn Thái Bình, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 70000, Vietnam

3. Vietnamese Coconut Coffee – Cà Phê Cốt Dừa

This is one of our personal favorites! Take some coffee, some coconut pulp, add a little bit of milk and a lot of ice: mix them together and you’ll get Cà Phê Cốt Dừa (or simply Cà Phê Dừa). I cannot put in words how amazing this coffee is, from its smooth texture to its delicate but unique taste, coconut coffee is the ultimate refreshing drink for your Vietnamese adventures! What’s more, they also give you a little glass of coconut water, resulting from the preparation, allowing you to quench your after-coffee thirst! We can safely say that this is one of the most amazing Vietnamese coffees you should definitely try!

Where to taste it: Coconut coffee is a staple item on the menu of any coffee shop in Vietnam. However, we recommend getting it where coconut palm trees are actually endemic: i.e., in Central and Southern Vietnam. If you stop by Hoian, you can enjoy an amazingly tasty version of coconut coffee with a beautiful view of the Ocean at the Sound of Silence café, next to An Bang Beach.

📍Sound of Silence – 40 Nguyễn Phan Vinh, Cẩm An, Hội An, Quảng Nam 560000, Vietnam

4. Vietnamese Egg Coffee – Cà phê trứng

If you visit Hanoi, you must definitely get a sip of its most iconic coffee recipe: egg coffee! You can try it both hot and iced, although we recommend the hot version, which has a richer and smoother taste. Order one, and you’ll receive a beautifully golden cup with whipped cream or condensed milk on top. Abandon yourself to the mellow and rich smell of Vietnamese egg coffee, it will be a great way to have a midday rest after long walks!

Where to taste it: even though you can find it everywhere in Hanoi (and other parts of Vietnam, too), we strongly suggest experiencing Vietnamese egg coffee in its very birthplace: Café Giang. Here, around 80 years ago, Mr. Nguyen Giang invented the recipe.

📍Café Giang – 39 P. Nguyễn Hữu Huân, Lý Thái Tổ, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam

5. Vietnamese Salt Coffee – Cà phê muối

Yeah, you read it right! Vietnamese people are so creative with ingredients that they even managed to create an amazing coffee recipe using salt! The recipe was invented by Phong, a coffee shop owner in Hué and it quickly conquered the whole region. Vietnamese Salt Coffee consists of black coffee mixed with vanilla-flavored cream and salt. For first-timers, it can really be a novel experience, as you can really feel the savory component while sipping coffee.

Where to taste it: Salt coffee is a must if you visit Hue, offering the possibility to get a rest from the heat and temple visits and embrace the habits of locals. A quite charming spot for sipping a great salt coffee is definitely HUE T.Roaster Café

📍HUE T.Roaster Café – Hẻm 10 Bến Nghé, Phú Hội, Thành phố Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế 52000, Vietnam

This concludes our short list of our personal favorites, but there are so many other amazing Vietnamese coffees worth trying. Let us know in the comments what’s your favorite Vietnamese coffee!