How to make Vietnamese iced coffee (cà phê sữa đá)

To make Vietnamese iced coffee (cà phê sữa đá), drip strong dark-roast coffee through a phin filter onto sweetened condensed milk, stir until it's smooth, then pour it over a tall glass of ice. It's sweet, bold and creamy, and it takes about 10 minutes.

The name tells you exactly what's in it: cà phê (coffee), sữa (milk) and đá (ice, literally "stone").

How do you say "cà phê sữa đá"?

Roughly "kah feh soo-uh dah".

• cà: falling tone, "kah" going down
• phê: level tone, "feh"
• sữa: ngã tone, a broken rising sound, "soo-uh"
• đá: rising tone, "dah" going up

Ordering it in Vietnamese at a café is a nice touch, but the staff will understand "Vietnamese iced coffee" too.

Ingredients for one glass

• 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons (about 15 to 20 g) coarse-medium ground dark-roast coffee
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons (about 25 to 30 ml) sweetened condensed milk
• About 1/2 cup (120 ml) water, just off the boil
• 1 tall glass of ice

Allergen note: this drink contains dairy. Some Vietnamese coffee roasts are roasted with butter, so check the label if dairy matters to you.

Iced coffee uses a touch more coffee or milk than the hot version, because melting ice dilutes it.

Equipment

• A phin filter
• A small heatproof glass or cup to drip into
• A tall serving glass
• A spoon for stirring

Steps

1. Add the condensed milk to the small heatproof glass.

2. Set up the phin. Place the base plate and chamber on the glass, add the coffee and shake it level. Rest the filter insert on top and press lightly.

3. Bloom the grounds. Pour about 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of hot water over the coffee and wait about 30 seconds.

4. Fill and wait. Fill the phin to the top, cover it and let it drip for about 4 to 5 minutes.

5. Stir. Remove the phin and stir the coffee into the condensed milk until it's a smooth, even tan color. This step matters: condensed milk doesn't mix well once it's cold.

6. Pour over ice. Fill the tall glass with ice and pour the coffee over it. Stir again and serve.

Why mix before adding ice?

Sweetened condensed milk is thick and dense. If you pour hot coffee over ice and then add the milk, it sinks and clumps. Mixing it into the hot coffee first gives you an even, creamy drink from the first sip to the last. Some cafés serve the phin dripping on top of a glass with milk and a separate glass of ice, so you can do the stirring and pouring yourself.

What kind of ice works best?

Larger cubes melt more slowly, so your drink stays strong longer. Crushed ice chills fast but waters the coffee down quickly. If you like a stronger drink, freeze leftover coffee in an ice tray and use coffee cubes instead.

No phin? A backup method

A phin gives the most authentic result, but you can get close without one:

• Moka pot: makes a strong, concentrated coffee that works well with condensed milk.
• Strong pour-over or French press: use about double your usual amount of coffee for the water.
• Espresso: a double shot is a decent stand-in, though the flavor is different from dark-roast robusta.

The key is strength. Ordinary drip coffee is too weak to stand up to condensed milk and ice.

Adjusting it to taste

• Too sweet: use less condensed milk, or add a splash of regular milk with less condensed milk.
• Too bitter: add more milk, or try a coffee blend with some arabica.
• Want it milkier: try bạc xỉu, the Southern drink with lots of milk and only a little coffee.
• Dairy-free: sweetened condensed coconut milk works and adds a coconut flavor.

For a side-by-side look at the milky and black versions, see cà phê sữa đá vs cà phê đen. If you're new to the phin, start with how to use a phin filter.

Making a batch for a crowd

Brewing one phin at a time is slow for a group. You can brew several phins in a row, collect the coffee in a jar, mix in condensed milk to taste and keep it in the fridge for a day or two. Pour it over ice to serve, and stir well before pouring because the milk settles.

Taste your first glass before adding more milk; it's easy to sweeten more and impossible to un-sweeten.