How was coffee introduced to Vietnam?
The first coffee trees followed in the footsteps of the French colonists who were introduced to Vietnam in the 19th century. The main coffee variety grown in Vietnam is the Robusta seed variety with bold and bitter characteristics. This is also the beginning of affecting the taste of coffee of Vietnamese people.
After 1975, coffee trees began to thrive in the Central Highlands provinces and gradually became a popular drink in people's lives.
From the 1990s to now, Vietnam has become the world's 2nd largest coffee exporter after Brazil, focusing on exporting Robusta varieties and creating a very unique culture of how to enjoy coffee uniquely through each region.
Egg coffee – A unique drink of Hanoi people
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Egg coffee was created from the lack of... milk. Legend has it that Mr. Nguyen Van Giang, who used to be a famous chef at the Metropole Hotel, created this special coffee. In 1940, when everything was scarce, he was concerned about creating a sweet drink with milk and cream like Cappuccino. After many trials, egg coffee was born. The ingredients for making egg coffee are quite simple, including fresh chicken eggs, sugar, milk, and coffee. The egg yolks are beaten with a machine with milk and sugar and then poured into a black coffee cup. Egg coffee cups are usually kept hot with a cup to keep the water hot and left for a long time will be easily fishy.
The soft and sweet fluffiness seems to have nothing to do with the bitterness of coffee, but when you drink it, you definitely feel that it is a perfect blend full of charm. Egg coffee is one of the drinks in the TOP 17 best coffees to try in the world, which is the opening coffee cup for the exploration of Vietnam's cultural journey.
Rich, slow cup of coffee in the Central region
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In the Central region or especially the dreamy city of Hue, there is no inherent coffee. Coffee cups are usually very small and much richer than Southern and Northern coffee. The owner will serve coffee with a direct filter and then let customers sit and wait for each drop of coffee to fall into the cup, slowly and gently. A filter can only distill out about 1/5 of a small cup. A little sugar and ice are enough to cool the coffee and not to dilute it too much.
Coffee shops in the Central region are usually in quiet and peaceful areas that are simply decorated. Coffee shops like meditation shops help people calm down, contemplate, evoke us joys and sorrows, memories over a cup of rich coffee, as a daily ethereal pleasure.
Silver – sweet as Saigon people
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Silver is derived from the phrase "silver is white, silver is a glass, a little is a little, and cheese is coffee), which means coffee with a little milk. Silver is also a creative drink of working people, and it also stems from the lack of fresh milk in the past.
To replace luxury items - fresh milk, Ong Tho condensed milk or Bird are replaced. However, condensed milk mixed with hot water tastes a little bitter, so people thought of adding a little coffee flavor to drown out that smell. So the silver xiao dish was born.
The way Saigon people drink coffee is very generous and they consider a cup of coffee as a beverage. Coffee cups are usually very sweet, almost drowning out the bitterness of the coffee and are given a lot of ice. In Hanoi and Hue, filters and cups are often served, while in Saigon, coffee is mainly made and drunk with... straws. Saigon people are also not used to drinking Hanoi or Hue-style coffee because the cup of coffee is too strong and the drinking style is too slow.
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