Vietnamese Espresso Recipe

The perfume of robust Robusta espresso was a relentless throughout my childhood in Vietnam. Earthy with a touch of chocolate and caramel, it was the scent that permeated my house every morning, when my mother, who began ingesting espresso in her teenagers throughout the Nineteen Sixties, made her cup of Vietnamese drip espresso: black (cà phê đen) with a little bit of sugar and ice. 

Although that is how most Vietnamese individuals favor their espresso, many additionally take pleasure in cà phê sữa đá (iced espresso with condensed milk). With sweetened condensed milk to mood the tough bitterness of Strong beans, the drink is extremely refreshing when loved with ice. Over the previous few many years, the drink has turn out to be more and more common, particularly outdoors Vietnam, the place an increasing number of devoted espresso outlets are bringing Vietnamese drip espresso to a wider viewers. It’s a drink that leaves you buzzing for hours—my household and associates joke that the beverage is so robust it’d present up on a drug check.

A Transient Historical past of Vietnamese Espresso

Regardless of being the world’s second largest coffee producer, trailing solely behind Brazil, Vietnam will get little or no recognition for its espresso. Vietnam produces greater than 90% of the world’s Robusta beans, which have a status for being low-cost and low high quality, and are sometimes bought to make commodity-grade espresso. Whereas most espresso drinkers favor Arabica beans for its clean mouthfeel and caramel notes, Robusta reigns supreme in Vietnam, the place it’s sometimes used to make conventional Vietnamese drip espresso.

The French launched espresso vegetation to Vietnam in 1857, when the Southeast Asian nation was one among its colonies. In her e-book Rice and Baguette, historian Vu Hong Lien notes that the French authorities supplied “beneficiant tax concessions” to incentivize corporations and people to plant worthwhile crops, together with espresso. The expansion of espresso plantations and accompanying exploitation—each of land and folks—precipitated nice resentment among the many Vietnamese. This led to mass protests and violent assaults in opposition to the French colonists, who responded with arrests, imprisonment, and even executions to be able to maintain the plantations working.

In the present day, Vietnamese espresso grows in southern Vietnam’s Central Highlands, the place the average local weather and altitude present the perfect atmosphere for Robusta vegetation to thrive. Although Robusta beans aren’t famend for his or her taste and high quality, they can produce nice espresso when picked at peak ripeness—a job that’s harder than it sounds.

On a latest go to to a number of espresso plantations in Lâm Đồng province, I discovered that it may take as much as 9 months for the cherries to mature correctly. Like most fruit, they don’t all the time ripen on the identical fee, and since harvesting espresso cherries by hand is such an arduous job, many plantations depend on machines to do the work. It’s a course of that leads to a mixture of ripe and unripe espresso cherries, and the result’s lower-quality espresso—the type that has given Robusta beans its poor status.  

A brand new technology of Vietnamese espresso producers and entrepreneurs, nonetheless, are striving to vary the notion of Robusta espresso by experimenting with revolutionary farming practices and roasting methods. In the present day, curious espresso drinkers will discover an more and more wide selection of Vietnamese espresso manufacturers on-line and at Asian grocery shops.

Trung Nguyen Coffee, from Dak Lak, Vietnam, is without doubt one of the largest manufacturers. Their Premium Mix, an inexpensive and extensively accessible choice, combines roasted Arabica and Robusta beans, and has wealthy chocolate notes. My favourite providing from the model, although, is the Inventive 1, which options Culi Robusta beans and is full-bodied and wealthy with a touch of vanilla.

One other common model is Nguyen Coffee Supply, based by Sahra Nguyen, who sources espresso beans from Vietnamese farmers and roasts them in Brooklyn, New York. Nguyen, a champion of Robusta beans, has transformed many espresso drinkers into lovers of this much less common bean along with her varied roasts. The Hanoi, a darkish roast of Robusta beans with notes of prunes and graham crackers, and the Loyalty, a medium roast of Arabica and Robusta beans with hints of cacao and pomelo, are each wonderful for brewing with a phin filter (extra on how to do this beneath).

Among the many Vietnamese neighborhood, Café Du Monde, the favored espresso from New Orleans, has a loyal following. Whereas Café Du Monde doesn’t share how they supply or mix their espresso, their darkish roast with chicory is paying homage to the espresso that the French dropped at Vietnam. Many Vietnamese immigrants, reminded of the acquainted style from their youth, gravitate towards Café Du Monde.

Throughout the final decade, there’s been an rising demand each inside and outdoors Vietnam for specialty espresso with single origin Robusta beans sourced straight from Vietnamese farmers. With an increasing number of customers in search of out Vietnamese espresso for themselves, the product could lastly be getting its lengthy overdue recognition.

Methods to Choose Vietnamese Espresso

With so many manufacturers, blends, and roasts accessible, which you select in the end boils down to non-public choice. For conventional Vietnamese drip espresso, it’s finest to select a good-quality single origin Vietnamese Robusta for its daring, nutty taste, like Trung Nguyen Espresso, Nguyen Espresso Provide, Omni Bev, Cafely, or Copper Cow Espresso.

For those who can’t discover Robusta beans, many Vietnamese manufacturers supply a mix of Robusta and Arabica. Choose a mix with at the least 70% Robusta, in any other case the sunshine taste of Arabica gained’t stand as much as the sweetness of condensed milk. One other various is utilizing darkish roast beans much like Café Du Monde. Darkish roast espresso beans bear an prolonged roasting interval, leading to a richer, bolder taste much like Robusta beans. You could have to bear a sequence of espresso bean style assessments earlier than discovering one thing that you just like.

Methods to Brew Vietnamese Espresso

Use a Phin Filter

Whereas quite a few coffee makers and brewing methods exist, conventional Vietnamese drip espresso is brewed utilizing the phin filter. There isn’t a official report of when and the place the phin filter originated, nevertheless it’s possible the Vietnamese created it as an easier, extra inexpensive model of the French press, which the French introduced however was too costly for the working class. Made with stainless-steel or aluminum, the phin filter consists of 4 elements: a lid to lock within the warmth, a screw-on display screen or a gravity press to push down the espresso, a brewing chamber to carry the espresso grounds and water, and a drip plate to filter the espresso.

Take Your Time to Steep

Most individuals, when making Vietnamese espresso, pour all the new water into the brewing chamber and let it drip instantly. Some could bloom the espresso in a few tablespoon of water for 30 seconds, which releases carbon dioxide from the roasting course of and enhances the general taste. (As culinary director Daniel discovered in his testing, bloomed espresso tastes “richer, rounder, and fuller-flavored.”) 

To learn the way to make nice Vietnamese espresso at house, I spent a morning studying about phin filter brewing with Vinh Duong of Saigon Coffee in San Diego. Duong, who is decided to brew the absolute best cup of espresso, has spent years honing his methods. As he busied himself with making ready totally different drinks for his prospects, he defined the easiest way to extract probably the most taste from espresso utilizing a phin filter. 

The important thing, Duong says, is to pour in half of the water and let the espresso steep for 5 minutes with the lid off and positioned beneath the drip plate to forestall it from dripping.  The steep produces a extra well-rounded, uniform extract, whereas the gradual drip afterwards yields a concentrated taste. Duong truly steeps his espresso wherever from 30 to 45 minutes relying on the amount required, however this lengthy steeping time, whereas admirable, is just not reasonable for most individuals after they’re in a rush.

Sadly, the lids of many phin filters within the U.S. aren’t deep sufficient and should lead to some slight espresso spillage throughout the steeping course of. To mitigate this downside, Duong recommends inserting each the lid and filter on a plate simply giant sufficient to catch any spilled espresso. After steeping, Duong removes the lid, and pours any spilled espresso—together with the remaining water—into the chamber. This time, he removes the drip plate and permits the espresso to complete dripping into the glass beneath. Relying on the scale of the espresso grounds and the way tightly fitted the display screen is, it may take wherever from seven to 10 minutes to complete dripping. 

I examined Duong’s methodology of steeping the espresso for 5 minutes, and the espresso it produced was a lot richer and extra balanced than the espresso that had solely been bloomed for 30 seconds, which had a powerful acerbic be aware. This distinction is much more pronounced when condensed milk and ice are added.  

Sweetened Condensed Milk and Ice Are a Should

Cà phê sữa đá means espresso served with sweetened condensed milk (sữa) and ice (đá), and these two elements are non-negotiables for Vietnamese espresso. Longevity Model, or Sữa Ông Thọ, is the go-to sweetened condensed milk for most individuals within the Vietnamese diaspora. I like to recommend beginning with one tablespoon of condensed milk and including extra as wanted to get your required sweetness. To keep away from diluting your espresso an excessive amount of, wait till the espresso feels cool or lukewarm earlier than including the ice.

With creamy, sweetened condensed milk and ice to mellow out the bitterness of Robusta beans, Vietnamese espresso is the refreshing drink I attain for after I want a caffeine enhance. I drink a lot of it that it actually wouldn’t shock me if it did, certainly, present up on a drug check.