Drinks

Vietnamese Iced Coffee (Cà Phê Sữa Đá)

Name: Vietnamese Iced Coffee (Cà Phê Sữa Đá)
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 7 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk; 3 tbsp coarsely ground dark-roast coffee, traditionally Vietnamese robusta; 150 ml hot water, just off the boil; 1 cup ice cubes

Dark-roast coffee dripped straight over sweetened condensed milk, then poured over ice.

Vegetarian Gluten-Free Nut-Free

Phin filter dripping coffee into a glass, with a glass of ice on the side — The slow drip through the phin is what gives the coffee its strength.

Prep2 min

Cook5 min

Total7 min

Servings 1 serving

DifficultyEasy

Coarse dark-roast coffee slow-dripped through a phin filter directly onto sweetened condensed milk, stirred together while still hot, then poured over ice -- the condensed milk supplies both the sweetness and the body, with no added milk or syrup.

Ingredients

3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
3 tbsp coarsely ground dark-roast coffee, traditionally Vietnamese robusta
150 ml hot water, just off the boil
1 cup ice cubes

Instructions

Spoon the condensed milk into the bottom of a heatproof glass.
Set the phin filter on top of the glass, add the ground coffee, and tamp it lightly level with the press insert.
Pour a small splash of hot water over the grounds to let them bloom, wait 30 seconds, then fill the chamber the rest of the way and cover with the lid.
Let the coffee drip through slowly, about 4 to 5 minutes. 5 min
The slow drip through the phin is what gives Vietnamese coffee its strength and body -- a fast pour-over or drip machine won't extract the same way.
Remove the phin and stir vigorously until the condensed milk is fully dissolved into the coffee.
Fill a separate glass with ice and pour the sweetened coffee over it.

Notes

Sweetened condensed milk isn't a substitute for milk here -- it's the traditional base, supplying the sweetness and the body in one ingredient. There's no separate sugar or syrup.
A moka pot or a very strong drip brew works if a phin filter isn't available, though the flavor and strength won't be quite the same.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving (1 glass) -- estimated, not lab-tested.
Nutrient	Amount
Calories	220 kcal
Total Fat	5 g
Saturated Fat	3 g
Carbohydrates	38 g
Fiber	0 g
Sugar	36 g
Protein	4 g
Sodium	60 mg
Cholesterol	15 mg
Values are estimates based on standard ingredient data, not laboratory analysis.

Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 3:2 and re-encoded as WebP/JPEG for web delivery.