Vietnamese Coffee in a Vollautomat
Most Swiss kitchens have a bean-to-cup machine, not a phin. Vietnamese coffee works in one. Here is which beans to use, what to change in the settings, and how to get close to cà phê sữa đá.
Short answer: yes, Vietnamese coffee works in a bean-to-cup machine. Buy whole beans, never pre-ground, and all three PHIN coffees will run through a Vollautomat. For the most Vietnamese-tasting result, use Robusta-rich beans, a short strong shot, and add condensed milk in the glass, not in the machine.
Which Bean for Which Cup
| Coffee | Best as | Why |
|---|---|---|
|
Da Lat Dawn 60% Robusta, 40% Arabica |
Espresso, café crème, Cappuccino | The all-rounder. Body and crema from the Robusta, balance from the Arabica. Our first pick for a Vollautomat. |
|
Saigon Drip 100% Robusta |
Short espresso, iced coffee with condensed milk | The strongest and most Vietnamese-tasting. Cocoa and toasted grain, thick crema, about twice the caffeine of Arabica. |
|
Hanoi Haze 100% Arabica |
Café crème, Lungo, black coffee | The lightest. Floral, citrus and stone fruit. For people who drink their coffee black and long. |
Three Settings to Change
Robusta is dense. If your shot runs fast and watery, set the grinder one or two steps finer, a little at a time, and only while the grinder is running.
Turn the coffee strength up and the cup size down. Vietnamese coffee is meant to be short and concentrated, not a long mug.
If your machine lets you choose, use a medium-high setting. Very hot water pulls out more bitterness from Robusta.
Never put condensed milk through the machine
The milk system of a Vollautomat is made for fresh milk. Sweetened condensed milk is thick and sugary and will clog it. Put the condensed milk in the glass and let the coffee run onto it.
Cà Phê Sữa Đá from a Vollautomat
Put one to two tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk in a heat-resistant glass.
Run a double espresso of Saigon Drip straight onto the condensed milk and stir until it dissolves.
Fill the glass with ice and stir again. Not the same as a slow phin drip, but very close.
Our pick for a Vollautomat
Da Lat Dawn, whole beans: 60% Robusta from Cầu Đất near Đà Lạt with 40% Arabica. 200 g, 500 g or 1 kg, from CHF 11.00.
FAQ
Yes. Use whole beans. All three PHIN coffees work as whole beans in a bean-to-cup machine. Do not put pre-ground coffee into the bean hopper.
No. Robusta is in most Swiss supermarket espresso blends. What causes trouble is very oily beans, which some very dark roasts produce. Our coffees are medium and medium-dark roasts.
"Beans / No grind". The machine grinds the beans itself. The ground options are for phin, filter and espresso machines without a grinder.
Close, but not identical. A phin drips slowly for four to five minutes and gives a rounder, heavier cup. A Vollautomat is faster and gives more crema. If you want the original, a phin filter costs CHF 20.00.
Fill only what you will use in a few days. Keep the rest of the bag closed, away from light and heat. More in how long coffee stays fresh.