Coffee is one of the most favored drinks of all time. Espresso, cappuccino, crème latte, etc. fascinate millions of people of choosy appetite around the globe. Anyone who seeks for new exciting experiences with this worldwide famous beverage should definitely come to Hanoi, Vietnam. Vietnamese coffee would bring about the most amazing adventures of flavor.
Street coffee has been a distinctive culture of Vietnam. You can see coffee shops everywhere you go, from luxurious, expensive and decorative cafés to simple and modest stores on the street. However the latter is much more preferred and common in the capital of Hanoi. People of all walks of life can easily get a cup of coffee whose flavor is the perfect combination of bitterness, sweetness and the irresistible smell. People would sit on small plastic chairs on the pavements and chitchat with friends while leisurely sipping their coffee and observing the street life. Sitting at a street café, you could hear and witness many stories and aspects of life: work, family, friendship, love, business, hardship, etc. It seems like anything can be scrutinized at coffee shops. Moreover, people can listen to the symphony of life: vehicle engines roaring, vendors calling out to attract customers, birds singing, leaves fluttering in cool breezes. Those moments at street cafes give people the emotions of peace and serenity as if they are the only minority standing still in the whirlwind of life. Many Hanoians and foreigners living here have found this a unique feature only in this 1000-year-old city.
Regarding famous street coffee shops in Hanoi, we should never forget Café Giảng (Hàng Bông st.), Café Mai (Lê Văn Hưu st.), Café Lâm (Nguyễn Hữu Huân st.), … just to name a few. They have existed for decades and become the familiar place of all Hanoi lovers.
The way people make coffee in Vietnam is completely different from that of Western style. It takes time and patience to prepare a nice cup of coffee here. Coffee first is brewed in a special device, a drip filter which is phin in Vietnamese.
Drip filter – Source: Vietnam Travel
The coffee is put into the filter and tightly pressed before hot water poured in. It takes on average 3 to 5 minutes for the coffee to gradually leak drop by drop. When the dripping is finally over, left a dark brown, bitter coffee liquid in the cup, you can simply add some condensed milk or sugar and ice and can enjoy your coffee right away.This way of making coffee gives the beverage a greatly tempting smell and strongly caffeinated taste of unique mixture of bitterness and sweetness.
Depends on the supplements you add to your coffee, which are milk, suger, or ice, and its colors are there different ways to call you drink.
– Iced coffee with condensed milk is Cà phê nâu đá or just nâu đá like people often say. This kind is the most popular in Hanoi.
– Hot coffee with condensed milk is Cà phê nâu nóng or nâu nóng.
– Iced coffee with sugar is Cà phê đen đá or đen đá.
– Hot coffee with sugar is Cà phê đen nóng or đen nóng.
Street coffee in Hanoi has mesmerized millions of coffee fans everywhere. To fully experience the unique taste of coffee and the culture of enjoying it, come to Hanoi, Vietnam and we would discuss about it with our nâu đá nearby.