Vietnamese Iced Coffee

Shirley was in a bit of a bind.  The New York summer heat had reached record proportions and she was having trouble feeling comfortable just walking the sidewalks of New York.  Knowing that she needed some type of refreshment, Shirley started scouring the landscape for a place where she could get a refreshing drink.  An avowed coffee lover, Shirley was contemplating getting an iced coffee where she stumbled into a coffee shop in Greenwich Village that offered what she considered the holy grail of iced coffees - the Vietnamese Iced Coffee.

While there are many iced coffee drinks available (to learn more about these drinks, check out the articled on Iced Coffee), there is a reason why Shirley prefers the sweet taste of a Vietnamese Iced Coffee.  Regular iced coffee may be okay for some coffee drinkers but for coffee aficionados with more refined taste buds, very few drinks can compare with the sweet goodness of a Vietnamese Iced Coffee.  Described by some to have the taste of melted Haagen-Dasz coffe ice cream, you can expect to give your taste buds a taste sensation when drinking a glass of Vietnamese iced coffee.

If you want this delicious drink, you don't have to rely on cafes anymore.  Vietnamese Iced Coffee is a drink that is easy to make and there are numerous recipes available for this delightful confection.  While there is no one perfect recipe to make a Vietnamese Iced Coffee drink, the recipe listed below will get you started.  As with all other coffee drinks, there is ample room to experiment so you can tweak the Vietnamese Iced Coffee to suit your discriminating taste.  To make a great cup of Vietnamese Iced Coffee (or ca phe sua da, as they call it in Vietnam), just follow these steps:

1. Place 2 to 4 tablespoons of finely ground dark roast coffee beans into the Vietnamese coffee press and screw the lid down on the grounds.  It is recommended that you use coffee beans that contain chicory for that smooth flavor.  For those of you who don't know, a Vietnmaese coffee press is a type of coffee maker that resembles a stainless steel top hat.  To learn more about different coffee making devices, check out the article Coffee Makers.  If you don't have a Vietnmaese coffee press, you don't have to fret because you can use a regular-strenth espresso as a great substitute.  If using an espresso, it is highly recommended that you use French-roast beans or a dark coffee bean containing chicory.
2. Place sweetened condensed milk (the key to the Vientmaese Iced Coffee's taste) at the bottom of a coffee cup and then set the coffee maker on the rim.
3. Wait until the water has reached a temperature of nearly boiling and then pour the water over the screw lid of the press.  You may need to adjust the tension on the screw lid until bubbles appear through the water.  Once this occurs, coffee will drip slowly out the bottom of the press.
4. Stir the milk and coffee together once all of the water has dripped through.
5. While you can drink it as it is (which is the Vietnamese coffee drink called ca phe sua nong), you should pour the mixture over ice and stir to create Vietnamese Iced coffee.
6. Now you have a great tasting cup of Vietnamese Iced Coffee, make sure to drink it slowly and savor the great flavor!