For the coffee lovers, experimenting on different types of coffee is a hobby. The fun is not only in drinking coffee but also in the preparation of different types of coffee. Vietnamese iced coffee for example is one of the best types of coffee to add on your coffee list if you have any. Do you know the steps on how to make Vietnamese iced coffee?
What is Vietnamese Iced coffee?
This is a type of coffee prepared using the traditional Vietnamese coffee maker and mixed with sweetened condensed milk then served over a glass full of ice. It is much stronger as compared to other types of coffee making it ideal for people who love a strong caffeine hit. It might be something new especially to the coffee lovers but it is simple to prepare and can be enjoyed by anyone. It has a richer taste and flavor and if well prepared, it is sweeter than other types of coffee.
The good thing with Vietnamese iced coffee is you don’t have to spend a lot in buying brewers and expensive ingredients to make. It is not like any other iced coffee from preparation to the taste but it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg too. It tastes much better and it is also stronger than most of the iced coffee drinks served with dairy products. Vietnamese iced coffee is also served with a specific type of dairy product but not any other product like most of the coffee options out there.
For the coffee lovers who have only had a taste of weak, watered down coffee served over ice, this is the coffee that will give you an awakening. You won’t be able to restrain yourself from making the best of this once you are done with it the first time.
What You Need To Make Vietnamese Iced Coffee?
Let’s take on the bull by the horns and learn how to make Vietnamese iced coffee:
To make the best, you also need the best. Here are the items you require for this adventure:
Good quality coffee
Using the right grind of coffee is the first step to making this bomb ass type of coffee. Medium coarse grind like the French Roast is usually the best but you are free to use any other type as long as it is medium coarse grind. Using the fine grind coffee would be good but it falls right through the tiny holes of the coffee press.
Sweetened condensed milk
You can find this at any grocery store. However, be careful not to use the evaporated milk. The sweet thick stuff is the best and no alternatives here.
A Vietnamese coffee press
You can find it online or at any Asian market but it shouldn’t cost you more than $10 per press. You can also use the Aero press which is a funny looking press to make espressos and Vietnamese coffee as well. The press is easy to use and effective so don’t stress if you don’t have a Vietnamese press.
Ice
It is called iced coffee for a reason right?
How to make Vietnamese Iced Coffee or Café Sua Da
Let’s get down to it:
- Add two table spoons of the sweetened milk in a glass
- Add two tablespoons of the ground coffee to the coffee press. To help them stick together and at the bottom, wet the coffee grounds a little bit with hot water
- Tightly screw on the press making sure the coffee is well packed
- Boil water and pour the water inside the coffee press. Hot water might do the trick but boiled water is the best due to heat loss.
- Cover the press with its little hat and wait.
- Be patient. Wait for the coffee to drip and it does so very very slowly. It usually takes 3 to 5 minutes to finish. Don’t be in a hurry. Remember these ingredients are exact and rushing the process might not get you the desired taste in the coffee.
Also, the longer you let it drip, the stronger the coffee. You will notice there are only a few drops per second and if you have the patience, you can eve wait for more than five minutes. For me that’s the maximum I can manage to wait.
The coffee might be dripping faster than you anticipated and it is not a good thing. If this happens, use a small spoon or knife tip to tighten the press. One turn is enough. Or if it is dripping very slowly, unscrew the press a bit.
- You now have time to wait so as you wait, get some ice and put it in a glass.
- Once the dripping and waiting is done, stir the coffee well with a small spoon.
Set the coffee press on top of the overturned lid to avoid it making a mess of your table or countertop by dripping on it.
- Take the tall glass filled with ice and pour the coffee over it. Don’t be so quick and avoid overflowing the glass and spilling the coffee.
- Wait for it to settle and enjoy. For this step, you don’t have to wait for long just a few seconds for the coffee to slip through the ice to the bottom of the glass. It is going to be cold so a summer day or a hot afternoon is the best time to enjoy this rejuvenating drink.
Some people prefer not to add the sweetened condensed milk first such that the coffee brews into the milk. This is a different method plus adding the sweetened milk on top of the ice and the coffee might not get you the mixture you want. As the coffee brews into the milk, the flavor is more intense than when you add the milk directly on the coffee.
This process of making Vietnamese iced tea can take you up to ten minutes including preparation and cleanup time. It is however all worth the wait because at the end, you get a strong, great and richly flavored cup of iced coffee making it a perfect summer treat.
