Vietnamese Coffee Maker
 

Where can I buy one locally?

are u talking about the ones that they give u at restaurants on top of the cup? I got mine at 88 super market on victoria and 33. cheaper than tnt and yohan

Yah those ones. Do they sell a variety there? or just one kind?

Any of the Vietnamese markets along Kingsway will have it.

I got a couple at the household goods store in Parker Place... that was at least 10 years ago though, don't know if it still exists.

obligatory

^^ there was like 2 to choose from I think at like 88 supermarket. If I remember correct it was more or less around $5, tnt and yohan was like $7-8

So I picked one up the other day, and brewed my first cup at home. Is it just me or does the coffee taste better from a vietnamese coffee filter than your standard coffeemakers with a carafe?

I notice that it's alot smoother and has more body.

Vietnamese coffee is a blend of different Arabica and Robusta beans, roasted to a "French" or "Full City" roast. The idea behind this is to give the coffee a darker, smoother flavour as a majority of the physical and chemical properties have been cooked during the roasting process. In addition to that, Vietnamese coffees have different spices in them (cloves, cinammon, nutmeg etc.) to give it that flavour you don't get in normal coffees.

Now, with the Vietnamese drip filter, you're taking a small dosage of coffee and letting it extract in a metal tin with boiling water at a theoretical 100 degrees C. What this comes down to is your coffee, heat to water ratio. In essence, you're getting an espresso because it's being extracted by gravity. Whereas if you were to brew this coffee using a normal coffee maker, your coffee to water ratio is off (over extracting) and you get the bitter, charred, acidic taste. Once it's brewed and sitting on a heated carafe, it tastes even worse because you're maintaining that heat and flavour profile.

I actually didn't use a French Roast. I tried it with a different dark blend called Organic Peru from Continental Coffee. I used the same amount of grinded coffee that I would usually brew for 2 cups with the Vietnamese Coffee drip filter and it tasted way better than your standard coffee maker.

I think I will stick to that from now on.

French roast = Dark roast.

Viet coffee = lots of robusta beans (but not 100% afaik), dark roast.

Best blend I've found is Lavazza Crema e Gusto. It's 30% robusta 70% arabica IIRC

Also it's very important to use the right condensed milk. DO NOT USE "FILLED" MILK. They take out the delicious and more healthy milk fat (which is where milk gets its creamy taste from), and replace it with disgusting vegetable oil. Read the ingredients, there should be milk, sugar, and pretty much nothing else. If you see any vegetable oil added, find something else.

I don't know about Canada but in HK you can get Eagle Brand which is owned by Carnation. They sell BOTH TYPES so make sure to get the right one. Whatever you do, don't buy "Longevity" brand with the old chinese guy on it. Disgusting. Most "guides" you find online will recommend this stuff, but they are wrong.

If you like it cold, I like to brew it into a glass of ice. This way, you don't have to add as much ice, which dilutes the coffee. Add the milk after.

sooo ...does this potentially mean espresso at home without an espresso maker? :fullofwin:

^
I won't go into the history of espresso machines but fundamentally speaking, yes. (More so a combination of a French press and espresso machine.)

As coffee snobs like to joke about Vietnamese coffee, it's the poor man's espresso. :D

It's actually 30% Arabica and 30% robusta. Arabica beans are highly favoured over robusta in terms of flavour profiling. Lavazza Crema e Gusto is some of THE WORST coffees you can ever have, despite its glamorous packaging. It is nowhere near a dark roast and its claim for its "crema" is non-sense.

Taste is subjective and of personal opinion so I will leave it at that and respect it as such.

thanks! i was looking for this information as well!

I think it's best made with real Vietnamese coffee. I can never seem to find any in Victoria.

I wasn't aware that you can use Espresso blend as well. I will try it with that.

Yes I'm sure as a mainstream brand there is a lot of advocacy against it. For instance how can something be 30/30? What about the other 40?

Arabica might be 'highly favoured in flavor profiling' but that is subjective. We're talking about viet coffee here, not high end hoity toity espresso. In this case, the strong taste of robusta should be 'highly favored' over being against a brand for whatever reason.

And crema is irrelevant, we're talking drip coffee here...

Sorry, typo on my part. 70% robusta.

I don't know what Lavazza's Crema e Gusto or crema in general has to do with anything on the topic of Vietnamese coffee. Coffee shouldn't have to taste bad. And nobody deserves to be subjected to drinking God awful coffee unless you're a glutton for punishment.

You have to be careful as different shops use the term "espresso roast" interchangeably.

Shops like Starbucks refer to an espresso roast as a dark or French roast. You get that bold, smooth flavour whereas a specialty coffee shop's definition of an espresso roast is a blend of Brazilian, African and Central American beans which in turn could yield a sweet or tarty/acidic flavour profile.

If you're feeling adventurous, stop by Vincent Gentile's roasting facility (Casa Del Caffe) on E. Cordova and ask for his Espresso Roma or Colosseum blend. One of my most favourite dark, Southern Italian espresso roasts and a good alternative to Vietnamese coffee blends. he roasts fresh coffee every Thursday! :)

wow.. lots of coffee connoisseurs here. I just use Cafe du monde and it tastes just fine lol.

If you have friends or family traveling to Vietnam, just tell them to pick up a whole bunch of them like I did :fuckyea:

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went to 88 supermarket on victoria bought the coffee maker and it's $6.50 plus tax, gonna experiment with the blends as mentioned above

:rukidding: connoisseurs don't base their opinions solely on brand name and bean type

What do they base it on?