The Etiquette Tip To Keep In Mind When Drinking Coffee In Vietnam

America fosters a wide range of cultural coffee experiences, from endless espresso iterations to high-end coffee-cupping rituals, and simple small-town cafes serving drip-style coffee in styrofoam cups. It's all good, as the saying goes. But step outside U.S. borders and you may find a different java mindset. That particularly holds true in countries such as Vietnam. Though less known than mega coffee producers such as Brazil, Columbia, and Ethiopia, Vietnam is actually the second-biggest coffee-producing country in the world as of 2023 and 2024.

Aside from prolific coffee-bean production in Vietnam, you'll also find strongly held customs tied to consumption. Unlike the drawn-out Ethiopian coffee ceremony, Vietnam instead holds a simple sense of etiquette for everyday coffee drinking. Essentially, it means no slurping-and-dashing on the go. Instead, coffee drinking typically takes place in lively communal cafes, known in Vietnamese as quán cà phê, and it's often shared with friends, family, or co-workers. The experience represents living in the moment, taking a respite form hectic life, playing board games or enjoying music, all while connecting over a carefully crafted cup of Vietnamese-style drip coffee.

The vast majority of coffee drinking in Vietnam doesn't involve fancy espresso creations with flavored syrups, whipped cream toppings, sprinkles, or other overpowering ingredients. The coffee itself takes center-stage, though add-ins do exist and can be extremely sweet. They're just different from concoctions commonly found in the U.S., as is the distinct Vietnamese drip preparation.

There's a deep-rooted art to coffee drinking in Vietnam, pulling from historical connections to the earth and generational coffee-farming communities. That's why you'll rarely, if ever, see automatic drip machines dispensing a single round of hot water over ground beans, landing in large pots for multiple servings. Instead, the Vietnamese coffee drinking experience is a much slower process involving multiple rounds of filtering the coffee into a single cup.

The drip filter itself, known as a phin, is a core component that rests atop a cup and holds ground beans. A barista pours hot water over the beans, allowing a slow drip for concentrated flavor, then repeats the process several times. It most often brews at the table, per Vietnamese coffee etiquette and custom, rather than being plopped on a to-go counter for pickup.

While deference is decidedly given to rich coffee flavor, several popular Vietnamese coffee drinks take things in sweeter directions. They include coffee with milk, but not the kind you might imagine. Sweetened condensed milk is much more common, as it is in some other countries such as Singapore. Other traditional Vietnamese coffee orders include egg coffee, coconut coffee, and ones combining tea with Vietnamese iced coffee. Regardless of the specific coffee drink, it's likely brewed with bold robusta coffee beans, the primary Vietnamese coffee crop. Another common practice is blending robusta and arabica beans for a smooth, balanced drink.