Recipe
Cà Phê Sữa Đá
Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk
The drink most people mean when they say Vietnamese coffee: strong Robusta dripped straight onto sweetened condensed milk, stirred, then poured over ice. Sweet, bold and very cold.
- Prep
- 2 min
- Brew
- 6 min
- Total
- 8 min
- Makes
- 1 glass
Ingredients
Tick things off as you go.
You'll need
- Phin filter
- Heatproof glass or cup
- Tall glass for serving
Method
-
Step 1: Milk in first
Spoon the condensed milk into a heatproof glass and set the phin on top. Don't stir yet: the coffee drips onto the milk.
-
Step 2: Load the phin
Add the Saigon Drip, shake gently to level it and rest the press on top. Press lightly. You want a little resistance, not a tight seal.
-
Step 3: Bloom
Pour about 20 ml of hot water, just enough to wet all the coffee, and wait while it swells.
30 s -
Step 4: Slow drip
Fill the chamber with the remaining 80 ml, put the lid on and let it drip. If it takes much longer than 5 minutes, the press is too tight.
4–5 min -
Step 5: Stir and pour over ice
Lift off the phin and stir until coffee and milk are one smooth caramel colour. Pour over a tall glass packed with ice, stir once more and drink straight away.
Tips
Sweetness to taste
Condensed milk varies by brand. Start with 1½ tablespoons, taste, then add more. The ice will soften the coffee a little as it melts.
The right grind
Order Saigon Drip as “Medium fine (Phin / Aeropress)”. Finer coffee clogs the filter; coarser runs through too fast and tastes thin.
Let it drip at the table
In Vietnam the phin often drips while you talk. It's part of the drink, not waiting time.
Why condensed milk?
When coffee spread through Vietnam in the early 20th century, fresh milk was scarce and hard to keep in the heat. Tinned sweetened condensed milk kept for months, so it became coffee's everyday partner, and it stayed long after fridges arrived.
Today cà phê sữa đá is poured on street corners from Sài Gòn to Hà Nội, usually on low plastic stools and usually without hurry. In the north you'll hear coffee with milk called cà phê nâu, brown coffee. We have a Hà Nội version too.
Questions
Which coffee do I need for cà phê sữa đá?
A strong, dark Robusta. Saigon Drip is 100% Vietnamese Robusta from Buôn Ma Thuột, roasted medium-dark with notes of cocoa and toasted grain, which is exactly what stands up to condensed milk and ice.
Can I make it without a phin filter?
Yes. Pour a strong espresso or a small moka pot (about 50 ml) onto the condensed milk. It's close, though the phin's slow drip gives a thicker, rounder coffee.
Can I use regular milk instead?
Condensed milk is what makes it sữa đá: it sweetens and thickens at the same time. With fresh milk and sugar you get a good iced latte, but a different drink.
Brew it with
Everything this recipe uses, from our shop.
