News

Vietnamese Salt Coffee (Ca Phe Muoi): Easy Recipe with a Phin
If you've been to Vietnam lately — or scrolled past it online — you've probably met cà phê muối: strong iced coffee topped with a cloud of lightly salted cream. It comes from the central city of Huế, and it tastes better than it sounds. The pinch of salt softens the bitterness and makes the coffee taste rounder: sweet, salty and rich all at once. Here's how to make it at home with a phin in about ten minutes. What you need (serves 1) 2–3 tbsp ground coffee, medium-coarse (a... Read more...
The Best Coffee for a Vietnamese Phin: Beans, Roast and Grind
Good news first: any coffee works in a phin. You don't need a special brand or a special bag. But a few choices — the bean, the roast and above all the grind — make the difference between a thin, sour cup and the bold, chocolatey coffee you remember from a Vietnamese café. Here's how to choose. Robusta, Arabica, or a blend? Robusta is the traditional backbone of Vietnamese coffee. It has a heavier body, more bitterness and more caffeine than Arabica, which is exactly why it stands up to... Read more...
How to Make Vietnamese Iced Coffee (Ca Phe Sua Da) with a Phin
Cà phê sữa đá — Vietnamese iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk — is the drink that made the phin famous. Strong coffee drips straight onto a spoonful of condensed milk, gets stirred until it turns caramel brown, and is poured over a tall glass of ice. It takes about six minutes and three ingredients, and you can make it with the coffee already in your pantry. What you need (serves 1) 2–3 tbsp ground coffee, medium-coarse 1½–2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk 3–4 oz hot water, about 200°F (boil, then... Read more...
Why Is My Phin Dripping Too Fast? 7 Easy Fixes
You spooned in the coffee, poured the water, put the lid on… and ninety seconds later the phin is empty. The cup is thin, sour, a little watery. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone — a phin that drips too fast is the single most common complaint we see from people brewing Vietnamese coffee at home. The good news: it's almost never the phin's fault, and it's easy to fix. A phin is a gravity brewer, so the speed of the drip comes down to four dials you control.... Read more...