Now that we have visited France and Italy, lets see how things are done in the far East.  Cà phê sữa đá is Vietnamese for iced coffee with milk, and it is quite a treat.  This style of coffee keeps with the theme of cheap and simple ways to make coffee at home.  You can pick up a Vietnamese press pot for about $5.  Finding it might be the hard part.  Here in Tulsa they are sold at Nam-Hai which is an Asian grocery store around 21st & Garnett.  You can order one online, but the shipping will cost more than the product.

As you saw in the translation, this is iced coffee with milk, but not just any milk, sweetened condensed milk.  I happen to be a big fan of sweetened condensed milk, and it makes this drink a sweet creamy delight.  This isn’t a common drink here in the middle of the continent, but I have yet to find someone who didn’t like it when I made it for them, even non-coffee drinkers!  Of course you will have to adjust the ratio of coffee to milk to suit your preferences.  If I am making coffee for myself, I will brew it stronger with less milk, and then brew the inverse of that for my wife who generally does not like coffee.  This is easy to do because you brew this type of coffee one cup at a time.

You will need a coarse grind for this type of coffee filter.  You aren’t dealing with a paper filter so the same concept applies as with a french press.  If your grind is too fine, then a lot of it will make it’s way into your cup.  If you are buying pre-ground coffee, then I would suggest Cafe du Monde coffee & chicory.  The chicory is a common coffee substitute, and although it is similar to coffee, you will notice a difference.  The good thing is that chicory is caffeine free, and a soluble fiber.  So it is a healthy additive.  The coffee is also a french roast, so if you would rather not use chicory, then stick with a french roast.  The reason you use french roast in an eastern coffee is because the French are who brought coffee to Vietnam in the first place.

Now that we have our ingredients down lets get to brewing. Start with a glass like the the one pictured to the left.  I always use clear glasses when serving for guests as they usually get a kick out of watching the process.  It also makes it easier for you to see if the coffee is draining at a good pace.  Pour your sweetened condensed milk into the glass.  Use as much as you want, but remember, this stuff is very sweet.   Put about 2 heaping teaspoons of coffee in the filter and place it on top of the glass.  You can use slightly more or less depending on how strong you want it.  Now you are ready for the hot water(I use a tea kettle).  fill the filter up to the top and place the lid on top.

It is tempting to leave the lid off so you can watch as the water level goes down, but the lid helps with the biggest issue when using this type of brew method which is heat loss.  The thin metal filters don’t do much for keeping the hot water hot, so the lid is important as you want your coffee to brew at as small a temperature interval as possible(read: keep it hot).

After the water has filtered through you have a few options.  You can just start drinking with the hot coffee on top and a super sweet surprise at the end(not my favorite), you can stir it all up and have a sweet creamy hot coffee drink, or you can stir it up and pour it over ice.  The last option seems to be the most popular amongst those I have shared it with.

That concludes this post.  If you have any questions or suggestion then please share, and if you decide to make some Cà phê sữa đá for yourself, then please let me know what you think of it.  Enjoy your coffee!