Complete guide to how Vietnamese coffee is drunk and its culture

Many people are interested in Vietnamese coffee but have questions like, "What ways are there to drink it?" and "How is it related to agriculture?"

Locally, not just condensed-milk coffee but also ways of drinking that are unusual in Japan, such as egg coffee and salt coffee, are enjoyed day to day. This article explains the representative ways of drinking Vietnamese coffee, its cultural background and its deep connection with agriculture. It is useful content for people in agriculture and for food importers too.

Vietnam is a coffee powerhouse

Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee producer after Brazil. Its production in 2023 was about 1.8 million tonnes, boasting the largest scale in Asia.

What is mainly grown is Robusta which accounts for about 95% of the total. Robusta is high in caffeine and is characterized by bitterness and a rich aroma. This characteristic lies behind the distinctive way of drinking it with condensed milk added.

The coffee industry is at the core of Vietnamese agriculture, with about 600,000 farming households making their living from it. Behind a single cup lies this kind of history of farming and the lives of people.

Representative ways of drinking Vietnamese coffee

We have put the main ways enjoyed locally into a list.

Ca phe sua da (Cà phê sữa đá)

Ca phe sua da is the most popular way of drinking it in Vietnam. Coffee dripped strong through the aluminum filter "phin" is mixed with condensed milk and chilled with ice.

The balance of sweetness and bitterness is exquisite, and its appeal is being easy to drink even in the hot climate. The use of condensed milk is said to have begun as a substitute for fresh milk in an era when refrigeration was not yet widespread.

Egg coffee (Cà phê trứng)

Egg coffee is a way of drinking that originated in Hanoi. Its origin is said to be the use of egg yolk as a substitute in the 1940s, an era when milk was in short supply.

It is a drink with cream whipped from egg yolk, condensed milk and sugar placed on top of the coffee, with a rich flavor just like tiramisu. It is very popular with tourists too, and Hanoi's long-established "Giang Cafe" is famous as the shop where it originated.

Salt coffee (Cà phê muối)

Salt coffee originated in Hue (the old capital). Placing cream with a tiny amount of salt added on top softens the bitterness and brings out the coffee's sweetness.

Many people are surprised—"Salt plus coffee?"—but when you actually drink it, it is strangely easy to drink. In recent years it has become a talking point on social media and has come to be served at some cafes in Japan too.

Phin coffee—a unique extraction culture

When talking about Vietnam's coffee culture, the dedicated filter called "phin" is indispensable. It is a simple aluminum or metal tool that drips one serving at a time, slowly.

Because extraction takes two to four minutes, the time spent waiting for the coffee itself becomes "culture." Sitting on a plastic chair at a small back-alley cafe, slowly watching the coffee drip from the phin—that is an everyday scene in Vietnam.

Even now that espresso machines have spread, local people tend to prefer the phin. This "contradiction of ease and taking time" expresses the depth of Vietnam's coffee culture.

The deep relationship between coffee and agriculture

Vietnam's coffee culture cannot be separated from agricultural production. In the main growing areas of Dak Lak and Lam Dong, coffee is grown in highland zones at 600–1,500 meters altitude.

This region, where red soil (basalt soil) suited to growing Robusta spreads, has moderate rainfall of 1,800–2,000 mm a year. This underpins the stable production of high-quality coffee beans.

When the harvest season (October to January) comes, there is also a rooted culture of "seasonal labor," in which young people who had left the countryside to work away return home to help with the harvest. Coffee farming is also deeply tied to the structure of Vietnamese society.

Major growing areas and the characteristics of their varieties

Ties with the Japanese market and an import-business viewpoint

Imports of Vietnamese coffee into Japan are increasing year by year. The import volume of Vietnamese coffee beans in 2023 was about 50,000 tonnes, a level that ranks among the top source countries.

Bottled drinks and canned coffee of ca phe sua da have come to be seen in Japanese convenience stores and supermarkets too. For food importers, the market expansion of Vietnamese coffee is a trend not to be missed.

When building a partnership with local partners, it is important to understand the growing area's agricultural circumstances and harvest cycle. In particular, the risk of production fluctuating due to climate change is a point to grasp.

Summary

Vietnamese coffee is drawing global attention with its varied ways of drinking—ca phe sua da, egg coffee, salt coffee and more. Behind this lie an agricultural production system centered on Robusta and a unique extraction culture using the phin.

As the world's second-largest producer, it is a presence that cannot be ignored from the viewpoint of agriculture and food business either. Demand is rising in the Japanese market too, and it is a field to watch as a future business opportunity.

At VN AGRI, we share the latest information on Vietnamese agriculture.

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