It’s no coincidence that many coffee shops in Hanoi are so glorious. The variety of drinks on the menu is abundant as well. Regarding even the world acclaimed coffee brands, they must have studied and noticed such a profound coffee culture in Vietnam before establishing their business here. So what is so special about the coffee scene which has existed for almost 150 years in Vietnam, especially Hanoi?

The beginning of Coffee

Coffee came to Vietnam with the French during French Colonial time in the 19th century. The first coffee shop opened on Hang Kham street (nowadays Trang Thi street). The newspaper Future of Tonkin wrote: “From 1884 to 1885, the number of coffee shops increased rapidly. On Hang Kham Street lay the Café du Commerce, Café de Paris, Albin Café, Café de la Place, Café Block. The earliest and most famous is the Café de Beira.”

Hình ảnh Hà Nội cuối thế kỷ 19 đầu thế kỷ 20

At first, in spite of regular meetings with the French officers, the officials of the Nguyen dynasty in Tonkin were still unfamiliar with the drink that is as black as sewage with bitter taste.  Not until the early 20th century did Hanoians start to drink coffee, yet most of them are youngsters in rich families who had studied abroad in France or intellectuals who have progressive views. Yet as time goes by, coffee has step by step become an irreplaceable part of Hanoian life.

Vietnamese Filtered Coffee

Vietnamese people has such an authentic coffee culture. First of  all is how coffee is made. Initially, the French used disposable paper or French presses to filter coffee. However, that was such a fancy way to filter coffee for most Vietnamese people. Hence the invention of the phin in around 1960s by the Vietnamese poor population. Stainless steel phin are very convenient to use, wash and store after using. Later, people have even created ceramic phin andglass phin which can aso be reused.

Phin café

Coarsely ground coffee is loaded into the chamber, then weighted down with the lid. Hot water is added to the phin and then the water slowly trickles through into the cup. With no paper filter, all the essential oils from the bean go straight into your cup. That is why Vietnamese coffee is extremely potent.

Vietnamese Filtered Coffee (Cà phê phin)

Coffee with condensed milk

Though the French brought ‘café au lait’ (coffee with fresh milk) to Vietnam, the more popular drink among the Vietnamese has been coffee with condensed milk.

Not until the middle of the 19th century was fresh milk popular in Vietnam. However, in a tropical climate, fresh milk is more difficult to obtain and store than condensed milk in a tropical climate, hence less affordable for the poor workforce, which represented 80% of the Vietnamese population at that time. Therefore, cafe au lait of The French has become cà phê sữa đặc (coffee with condensed milk) / cà phê nâu (brown coffee).

Coffee with condensed milk

Egg coffee

Another alternative to the scarce and expensive fresh milk is the egg yolk hand-whipped with condensed milk. Hot coffee is then poured into the beaten eggs, which will form a beautiful and aromatic foam.

Invented in 1946, the egg coffee soon drew the attention of all the foreigners and the Vietnamese. The creator of this iconic coffee is Nguyen Van Giang, who used to work as a bartender at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel. Soon after that, Giang decided to leave the hotel to start selling egg coffee and create his own brand: The Giang cafe, which still exists and is a well-known destination by both local and foreign visitors.

Hanoi coffee culture

Coffee shops in Vietnam are so glorious, compared to most places he’d been to in Europe or in the States. In fact, more than a takeaway cup of coffee to keep themselves caffeinated, Vietnamese people regard “đi cà phê” (going to a coffee shop) as an immense part of their daily routine. Some go to a coffee shop for meets and greets. Some go to a coffee shop to discuss business. Or some even go to a coffee shop just to finish a good book. In Vietnam people have all sorts of reasons for a cup of coffee, which takes the coffee scene to another level.

In fact, Vietnamese coffee is more developed in Hanoi than anywhere else in the country. It is not difficult to see clusters people of all ages sipping on a cup of coffee. The fads about coffee in Hanoi can be visible in the variety of coffee-based drinks here.Through the years, all the unique features of Vietnamese coffee have been the results of the restless effort and creativity of Vietnamese people through thicks and thins, making such a western drink an authentic aspect of Vietnamese culture, just like the bún chả, phở, áo dài and so on. If you are a coffee addict, a sip of Hanoi coffee is such a highlight for your coffee and culture experience.

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