Read This Before Ordering Vietnamese Coffee In The U.S.
Vietnamese iced coffee is undeniably delicious. It's the ideal beverage whether you need something cool and refreshing to sip on or are simply craving a little sweetness. According to Allrecipes, the drink is made using sweetened condensed milk and lots of ice, making it a real treat for the summer months. Even those who prefer black coffee won't be let down by this creamy libation.
This particular drink calls for dark roast coffee, as per a fan of the beverage on Reddit who says that light or medium roasts may taste too flat. Another Redditor who is Vietnamese has a brilliant hack if you're planning to make it at home: "A trick is after you mix coffee and condensed milk, chill it in the fridge for a couple hours before drinking it." This will ensure that the flavor of the coffee intensifies — and that you won't have to water down the already chilled beverage with too much ice.
If you choose to go out and order the drink at a non- Vietnamese-owned shop, however, tread with caution.
You may not get the authentic experience
As Vietnamese coffee has become a trendy option stateside, many cafes have started adding it to their menus — despite not having any links to Vietnam, according to a recent piece by GoErie. Sahra Nguyen, founder of Nguyen Coffee Supply, is determined to change this. She said that none of the American shops that she had visited provided actual Vietnamese coffee beans, which motivated her to start a business of her own.
Nguyen noted, "Literally every time I would order [Vietnamese coffee], it didn't taste anything like coffee that I knew growing up. I would ask the barista, 'What's in this drink?' And they'd say, 'Oh, it's our house Ethiopian. We add sweetened, condensed milk to it.'" Nguyen was taken aback: Shops were selling "Vietnamese coffee" without actually being authentic to the country's coffee culture. Now, Nguyen Coffee Supply is the first specialty Vietnamese coffee company in the U.S., according to the website, importing the beans directly from Vietnam and roasting them in New York.
So, the next time you want a Vietnamese iced coffee, you might want to ask where the shop gets its beans.