Learn how to make Vietnamese Iced Coffee at home! This drink uses sweetened condensed milk for the most rich, decadent coffee imaginable!
Years ago I was first introduced to Vietnamese Iced Coffee (cà phê sữa đá) by a friend. There are numerous Vietnamese restaurants in the DC/MD/VA area and after tasting this delicious drink once, I began traveling to get it on a regular basis. Vietnamese iced coffee is creamy, rich and gives me that great burst of energy you can only get from sugar and caffeine. Bliss! Now that I realize how simple they are to make, I can enjoy them at home whenever I please. You need a Vietnamese coffee filter, which can be found online or at most Asian markets. You also need chicory coffee, which can be found at most supermarkets. I prefer Cafe Du Monde.
Vietnamese Iced Coffee
Ingredients
- Coffee with Chicory
- Water
- Sweetened condensed milk to taste
Instructions
- Pour some sweetened condensed milk into a glass. Personally, I like this drink very sweet. I'd start with 2 tablespoons and see how you like it.
- Boil some water. Add 2 tablespoons of coffee to the filter, screw the top on and set it on top of the glass.
- Fill the filter all the way with boiling water, place the lid on, and allow the liquid to slowly drip into the sweetened condensed milk. This will take several minutes.
- Once the coffee has finished dripping, stir the mixture together and pour it into a fresh glass over ice. Enjoy!
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Recipe Troubleshooting
For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)
baconbiscuit212 says
Oh my gosh! I love this! I always order it in Vietnamese restaurants and sometimes see the filters in Asian supermarkets. Why haven’t I tried it at home?!
Thanks for another inspiring post!
baconbiscuit212 says
PS. Your photos of milk turned out awesome! Milk is so hard to get right . . .
Becky says
This so makes me wish I could still drink coffee! Yum.
Susan says
Wow, looking at these photos I can perfectly conjure up the smell and flavour of Vietnamese coffee. Such a guilty pleasure!
spree says
Now that you’ve introduced us to home brewed coconut milk, it has me thinking….Yes? No? In any event it’s very pretty to look at, as your work always is.
Christine says
Yessssss, I love Vietnamese coffee! I used to buy it all the time when I lived in California, just two steps away from a Vietnamese sandwich shop.
daisy says
I love Vietnamese Coffee also. We have used Cafe du Monde for this, but right now we are using Trung Nguyen Vietnamese coffees (http://www.trung-nguyen-online.com/index.html). Also good.
Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide says
Shoot, I could have picked up some chicory a few weeks ago! This looks really good.
Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide says
Oh wow, you were Freshly Pressed woo hoo!
ceciliag says
I have never tried it but i am ALL for caffeine in a drink! c
Christy says
I have heard so much of the Vietnamese coffee and how popular it is :) Although I am never a fan of coffee, I am impressed with the beauty of this coffee as well :)
Your photo just looked so artistic!;)
Charlene Casey says
YES! I love Vietnamese coffee! I always wondered if it was possible at home… Thanks!
Grubarazzi says
Mmmmmm. This is one of my favorite treats to drink right after a giant bowl oh pho.
Huy-zer says
When we first emigrated to Cali from Vietnam, there was no place you could find the accoutrement to make his beloved ca phe sua da, so my dad had to make do with super strong French Roast through a Mr. Coffee, but of course it just wasn’t the same. According to him, the Vietnamese coffee drip (called a “phin” in Vietnamese and pronounced like a shark fin) cooked the condensed milk during the process and changed the flavor as well as consistency. It’s really beautiful if you think about it: hot, strong coffee thins the condensed milk, the cold condensed milk slightly cools the coffee, the now lukewarm coffee poured over ice melts just enough of the ice to dilute the coffee perfectly. Magic!
One day, after we had been in the States for a few years, he came home from from Cost Plus Imports acting like he had found the Holy Grail. They not only were selling the phins (of which he bought their entire on-hand supply of eight), but they also had Cafe Du Monde. From that day forward he started the day by brewing eight perfect ca phe sua das every morning for the fam (did I mention he and my mom had 13 kids?). Eventually he switched from Cafe Du Monde to Italian Roast (make sure whatever you use, it is Turkish ground as you want it as fine as possible). Sadly, he stopped making coffee last year as he is getting on in years.
Thanks for your post – it brought back some sweet memories of when my Pops was younger and healthier.
BTW, if you’ve ever wondered why so much Vietnamese food is influenced by the French, they tried to colonize us for the better part of a century, starting in the mid-1800’s. Judging by how much of their culture we adopted and idolized, we are a “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” kind of peoples.
Savory Simple says
Thank you for sharing the story about your family! I’m glad your father was able to enjoy making the coffee at home for a time. And I never thought about the hot coffee cooking the sweetened condensed milk, how interesting.
Andrea says
What a lovely personal story from Huy-zer. I also love Vietnamese coffee, and consider it an indulgence when I go out for Vietnamese food. I was first introduced to this delicious treat when I was in graduate school in Minneapolis and worked in downtown St. Paul, which has a fantastic Asian culture. Now that I live in Austin, I have only found one restaurant within 12 miles of home that serves this treat.
Carolyn Chan says
I absolutely LOVE this coffee ! I just wish it would drip faster but guess this is a case of good things come to those who wait :)
tokyohamster says
I’m a huge fan! I’ve never thought about having this at home. I usually like to fill up the filter twice so that it’s not as thick.. yum! Thanks for the great photos too :)