Vietnamese iced coffee facts for kids
Cà phê sữa đá ready to be stirred and poured over ice
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| Alternative names | Vietnamese iced coffee, cafe da |
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| Type | Beverage |
| Place of origin | Vietnam |
| Region or state | Southeast Asia |
| Serving temperature | Hot or cold |
| Main ingredients | Dark roast coffee, water, sweetened condensed milk |
Vietnamese iced coffee (Vietnamese: cà phê đá, literally "iced coffee") is a traditional Vietnamese coffee recipe.
At its simplest, cà phê đá is made using medium to coarse ground dark roast Vietnamese-grown coffee with a small metal Vietnamese drip filter (phin cà phê). After the hot water is added, the drip filter releases drops of hot coffee slowly into a cup. This finished cup of hot coffee is then quickly poured into a glass full of ice making the finished Vietnamese iced coffee.
Variations
Variations involve additions of ice, sugar or condensed milk. A popular variation is cà phê sữa đá (or nâu đá in the North), which is iced coffee served with sweetened condensed milk. This is done by putting two to three teaspoons or more of condensed milk into the cup prior to the drip filter process. Other variations include:
- Đen đá: Iced black coffee.
- Đen nóng: Hot black coffee.
- Cà phê sữa nóng or nâu nóng: Hot coffee with condensed milk.
- Bạc xỉu: Hot or iced milk with some added coffee, similar to a macchiato. Popular in Saigon.
Vietnamese egg coffee or cà phê trứng is a variation from Hanoi. It is made with brewed coffee, chicken egg yolk, and condensed milk. It has a similar taste and texture to tiramisu and eggnog. Salted cream coffee is another variation from Huế. Other modern variations feature novelty ingredients such as avocado coffee and coconut coffee.
History
Coffee was introduced into Vietnam in 1857 by a French Catholic priest in the form of a single Coffea arabica tree. The beverage was adopted with regional variations. Because of limitations on the availability of fresh milk, as the dairy farming industry was still in its infancy, the French and Vietnamese began to use sweetened condensed milk with a dark roast coffee.
Vietnam did not become a major exporter of coffee until the Đổi Mới reforms and opening of the economy after the war. Now, many coffee farms exist across the central highlands. Vietnam is now the largest producer of the Robusta variety of coffee and the second largest producer of coffee worldwide.
See also
In Spanish: Cà phê sữa đá para niños
