Vietnamese Coffee Drinks Explained

From Ca Phe Sua Da to egg coffee to salted cream — a complete guide to Vietnam's most beloved coffee drinks.

Vietnam's Coffee Drink Culture

Vietnam has one of the world's richest coffee drink cultures. Starting from a single ingredient — robusta coffee brewed through a phin filter — Vietnamese baristas and home brewers have developed dozens of distinct drinks, each with its own regional origin, technique, and flavour profile.

The most famous is Ca Phe Sua Da (iced coffee with condensed milk), but the tradition goes much deeper: egg coffee from Hanoi, salted cream coffee from Hue, coconut coffee from Saigon, and modern innovations like ube coffee and pandan latte.

At Hanoi Drip, we serve the full spectrum — from the classic to the contemporary.

The Classic Vietnamese Coffee Drinks

Ca Phe Sua Da

The most popular Vietnamese coffee drink. Phin-brewed robusta over ice with sweetened condensed milk. Bold, sweet, and refreshing.

Ca Phe Trung (Egg Coffee)

A Hanoi specialty. Whipped egg yolk and condensed milk foam over hot or iced phin coffee. Rich, custard-like, and unlike anything else.

Ca Phe Muoi (Salted Cream)

A Hue specialty. Salted whipped cream over iced phin coffee. The salt amplifies sweetness and softens bitterness.

Ca Phe Dua (Coconut)

Phin coffee with coconut milk. Tropical, creamy, and dairy-free.

Ca Phe Den (Black)

Phin-brewed robusta served black. The purest expression of Vietnamese coffee.

Ube Coconut Latte

A modern Vietnamese-inspired drink. Ube syrup, coconut milk, and Vietnamese robusta phin drip. Naturally purple and dairy-free.

The Regional Origins of Vietnamese Coffee Drinks

**Hanoi** is the birthplace of egg coffee (Ca Phe Trung). It was invented in the 1940s by Nguyen Van Giang, a barista at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel, as a substitute for fresh milk during wartime scarcity. The Giang Café in Hanoi's Old Quarter still serves the original recipe.

**Hue** is the origin of salted cream coffee (Ca Phe Muoi). The Central Vietnamese city is known for its refined, nuanced cuisine, and the salted cream coffee reflects this — a precise balance of sweet, bitter, and salty.

**Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)** is the home of coconut coffee (Ca Phe Dua) and the most innovative Vietnamese coffee scene. The city's café culture is fast-moving and experimental.

**The Central Highlands** (Dak Lak, Lam Dong) is where most of Vietnam's robusta coffee is grown. The region's cafés serve the most direct, unadorned expression of Vietnamese coffee — black, strong, and slow.