Vietnamese Iced Coffee

Vietnamese iced coffee, cà phê sữa đá, is strong coffee brewed through a Vietnamese phin, stirred into sweetened condensed milk and poured over ice. The name says it all: cà phê (coffee), sữa (milk), đá (ice). Made with dark-roast robusta, it’s bold, sweet and creamy. Without the milk, it’s cà phê đá. Here’s how to make it at home, how much condensed milk to use and how it compares with other iced coffees.

The short version

• Phin coffee + sweetened condensed milk + ice.
• A good start: 2 tablespoons (14 g) of fine robusta, 4 oz of water at 90–96°C (Nguyen Coffee Supply).
• Condensed milk in the glass first, then brew straight onto it.
• Start with about 1 tablespoon of condensed milk and add more to taste.
• No milk? That’s cà phê đá, black coffee over ice.

What do you need?

• A phin (see our phin guide)
• Coffee, ideally dark-roast robusta, ground fine
• Sweetened condensed milk
• Ice, and a heatproof glass
• A kettle

What’s the recipe?

This is Nguyen Coffee Supply’s recipe:

	Amount
Coffee	About 2 tablespoons (14 g), ground fine
Water	About 4 oz (120 ml), at 90–96°C (195–205°F)
Bloom	About 1 oz of water, 30–45 seconds
Condensed milk	About 1 tablespoon to start; more to taste
Ice	A glass full

Nguyen Coffee Supply also suggests brewing it a little stronger than for a hot coffee, with a touch more coffee or slightly less water, so it stands up to the melting ice.

How much condensed milk should I use?

It’s down to taste. Recipes range from about 1 tablespoon to 3 or more, and even Nguyen Coffee Supply’s own guides give anything from half an ounce (roughly a tablespoon) to 2 to 3 tablespoons. Start with one, taste, and add more. It dissolves best while the coffee is still hot.

What grind size should I use?

Fine, like sand, the same as for any phin coffee. If it drips through in a minute or two, grind finer; if it stalls, grind coarser.

How do you make Vietnamese iced coffee, step by step?

1. Put the condensed milk in a heatproof glass, about 1 tablespoon to start.
2. Sit the phin on the glass and add 2 tablespoons of fine coffee. Rest the press disc on top.
3. Bloom: pour about 1 oz of water at 90–96°C and wait 30–45 seconds.
4. Fill the chamber with the rest of the water, about 4 oz in all, put the lid on and let it drip.
5. Lift off the phin and stir until the condensed milk dissolves.
6. Pour over a glass of ice, stir and drink.

Brew mode on this page times the bloom and the drip for you.

General guidance only. Use a heatproof glass for the hot coffee, and take care with hot water.

What other versions are there?

• Cà phê đá: black phin coffee over ice.
• Cà phê sữa nóng: the hot version, phin coffee with condensed milk and no ice.
• Bạc xỉu: a milkier glass, with more milk and less coffee.
• Cà phê sữa tươi: made with fresh milk instead of condensed milk, Vietnam Nomad says.
• Cà phê nâu đá: the northern name for the same drink, “iced brown coffee”, according to Wikipedia.
• Egg coffee: a Hanoi speciality, strong phin coffee topped with a whipped egg-yolk cream; see our Vietnamese egg coffee page.

Vietnamese iced coffee vs other iced coffees

	Vietnamese iced coffee	Japanese iced coffee	Cold brew
Brew	Phin, slow drip	Pour-over onto ice	Steeped cold for hours
Strength	Strong	Light to medium	Smooth, often a concentrate
Milk	Usually condensed milk	Usually black	Optional
Taste	Bold, sweet, creamy	Bright, aromatic	Mellow, chocolatey

Why condensed milk?

Because fresh milk wouldn’t keep. CoffeeGeek and Vietnam Nomad both explain that fresh milk couldn’t survive the tropical climate, or the long journey from France, while sweetened condensed milk kept on a shelf and was milk and sugar in one. The classic brand in Vietnam, CoffeeGeek adds, is Longevity (Ông Thọ). It also corrects a common North American habit: Café du Monde is a New Orleans coffee-and-chicory blend with no connection to Vietnam, even though it often turns up in Vietnamese iced coffee recipes.

How did coffee come to Vietnam?

With the French, though the sources date it slightly differently:

Event	CoffeeGeek	Vietnam Nomad
Coffee arrives	1857, French missionaries plant arabica in the north	Mid-19th century, French missionaries, arabica in the north
Robusta	Introduced to the region in 1908	In 1908 the French replaced arabica with robusta and liberica
Where it grows	The Central Highlands, especially Dak Lak	Cultivation moved south to the highlands’ basalt soil

Vietnam Nomad adds that coffee was a luxury for the French and the upper classes until prices fell with the First World War, after which it became an everyday drink. Today, CoffeeGeek says, Vietnam grows over 95% of its coffee as robusta and supplies around 40% of the world’s robusta. In Saigon, Vietnam Nomad notes, coffee shops often give you a free iced tea (trà đá) with unlimited refills.

Vietnamese iced coffee vs other brewers

• Vietnamese phin: the brewer, and the hot version.
• Japanese iced coffee: a lighter, black iced pour-over.
• Cold brew: steeped cold for hours, then served over ice.
• Iced AeroPress: a quick, strong iced coffee with an AeroPress.

Explore every cold coffee in the cold chapter.