If one drink had to stand for Vietnamese coffee, for many people it would be cà phê sữa đá, called nâu đá in the north. It has just three ingredients: strong phin coffee, sweetened condensed milk and ice. Because it's so simple, the small things (how much milk, how strong the coffee, when the ice goes in) make all the difference.
For one glass
- 20–25 g of ground coffee, medium to slightly coarse. Robusta or a Robusta-heavy blend has the bold, bittersweet backbone to stand up to milk and melting ice. 1021 Phin Ground is ready to go.
- 70–90 ml of water at about 92–96 °C. Use a little less than you would for a hot cup, since the ice will dilute it.
- 1½–2 tablespoons of condensed milk (about 25–35 ml). Sweet tooths can go up to 3.
- A glass full of ice. Large cubes melt more slowly than crushed ice.
Method
- Condensed milk goes in first. Set the phin on the glass with the milk already in it, so the hot coffee drips straight onto it and dissolves it easily.
- Brew as usual: warm the phin, add the coffee, press lightly, bloom with about 20 ml of water for 30–45 seconds, then top up. Aim for a 4–6 minute drip. The full walkthrough is in our phin brewing guide.
- Stir well while it's still hot, until it's an even caramel brown with no milk left sitting on the bottom.
- Pour over ice, give it a few more turns and drink it as soon as it's cold.
Tip: Don't pour hot coffee over ice and add the milk afterwards. Cold condensed milk turns thick and stubborn, and the extra stirring melts more of your ice.
Tuning it to your taste
| You want | Try this |
|---|---|
| Stronger, less watery | Use 25 g of coffee and cut the water to about 70 ml |
| Less sweet | Drop to 1 tablespoon of condensed milk and add a splash of fresh milk for creaminess |
| Less bitter | Choose a blend with some Arabica, or let the water cool another 30 seconds |
| Ice-cold but never diluted | Brew extra coffee, freeze it in a tray and use those cubes instead of ice |
The twist: bạc xỉu
Bạc xỉu flips the balance: lots of milk, a little coffee. The name is usually traced to Saigon's Chinese community, roughly meaning a glass of white milk with a dash of coffee. It's less a coffee with milk than a milk that tastes of coffee, and a gentle place to start if you're new to Vietnamese coffee or want less caffeine.
- Stir 2 tablespoons of condensed milk with 60–80 ml of fresh milk in a glass.
- Brew a short, strong phin: about 15 g of coffee with 50–60 ml of water.
- Add ice to the milk, then pour the coffee slowly on top for that layered look. Stir before drinking.
A common ratio is about 3 parts milk (condensed plus fresh) to 1 part coffee, but adjust freely.
No time for a phin?
At the office or on the road, a Drip Collection bag works too: brew one bag with about 100 ml of hot water into a glass with condensed milk, stir, then pour over ice. It's a little lighter than phin coffee, so go easier on the milk to keep it balanced.
