The traditional way to make Vietnamese coffee is a phin, a small metal filter that drips slowly onto a glass of condensed milk. But if you already own a pour-over dripper and no phin, you can still make a strong, Vietnamese-style cup this morning. It will not be identical to a phin brew, and that is fine. Here is how to get close.
The short version
- Coffee: 20 g of dark roast (about 3½–4 level tablespoons), ground a little finer than for normal pour-over.
- Water: 150 g, about 200°F (boil, then wait 30 seconds).
- Ratio: about 1:7.5, close to the 1:6 to 1:8 of a phin, and about twice as strong as a normal pour-over.
- You get: roughly 110 ml (3½–4 oz) of strong coffee, about what a phin makes.
- Then: stir it into 1½–2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk and pour it over a tall glass of ice.
Why the pour-over needs changes
A normal pour-over uses about 15 g of coffee for 240 g of water (1:16) and makes a full, lighter mug. Vietnamese coffee is a small, strong shot made to stand up to sweet milk and ice. So you use more coffee and much less water. With so little water, two things change:
- Grind finer. A small amount of water runs through a shallow bed quickly. A slightly finer grind, about like table salt, slows it down so the coffee has time to extract. Our pour-over grind size guide shows the textures.
- Pour slowly, in small pulses. Instead of two or three big pours, use several small ones, so the water stays in contact with the coffee longer.
What you need
- A cone dripper and a paper filter that fits it. A ceramic dripper like our rustic ceramic dripper holds heat well, which helps a small, slow brew.
- A heatproof glass, cup or small server to brew into. Our amber glass server has a line at about 300 ml, plenty for one or two drinks.
- Dark roast coffee. A dark roast or a Robusta blend is traditional. More in the best coffee for a Vietnamese phin; the same beans work here.
- Sweetened condensed milk and ice, or the ingredients for salted cream (below).
- A scale, if you have one. Our pocket coffee scale weighs the 20 g coffee dose easily.
Step by step: cà phê sữa đá with a pour-over dripper
- Add the milk. Spoon 1½–2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk into your heatproof glass or server. Start with 1 if you like it less sweet.
- Rinse and warm. Set the dripper on a separate cup, rinse the paper filter with hot water and pour that water away. This keeps the papery taste out of such a small, strong brew.
- Add the coffee. Put the dripper on the glass with the milk. Add 20 g of finely ground dark roast and level the bed.
- Bloom. Pour about 40 g of water to wet all the grounds. Wait 30–45 seconds.
- Pulse pour. Pour the remaining water in three small pours of about 35–40 g each, letting the level drop a little between pours, until you have poured 150 g in total.
- Let it finish. The whole brew should take about 2½–3 minutes. You should have roughly 3½–4 oz of dark, strong coffee on top of the milk.
- Stir and pour over ice. Stir the coffee and condensed milk together, then pour it over a tall glass full of ice.
Brew hot coffee onto the milk, not onto ice, and pour the mixed coffee over the ice in a second glass. Sudden temperature changes are hard on glassware. If you use our double-wall glass cup, it shows the dark coffee resting over the milk before you stir.
Adjusting the taste
| If it tastes… | Try |
|---|---|
| Thin or sour, and it ran through fast | Grind a little finer, or pour in smaller pulses |
| Harsh or very bitter, and it took over 4 minutes | Grind a little coarser |
| Not strong enough with the ice | Use 22–24 g of coffee with the same 150 g of water |
| Too sweet | Start with 1 tablespoon of condensed milk |
Three more drinks from the same brew
Black iced coffee (cà phê đen đá)
Skip the condensed milk. Brew the same strong coffee into an empty glass, add a little sugar while it is hot if you like, then pour it over ice.
Milky iced coffee (bạc xỉu)
Use more condensed milk and a splash of regular milk, with a little less coffee. It is the gentle, milky cousin of cà phê sữa đá.
Salt coffee (cà phê muối)
Brew the coffee onto 1 tablespoon of condensed milk and pour it over ice. Then whisk 3 tablespoons of heavy cream, 1 tablespoon of condensed milk and a pinch (about ⅛ teaspoon) of fine sea salt until thick but still pourable, and float it on top. A handheld milk frother makes the cream in seconds; here is how to use a milk frother without the splatter. The full recipe is in our Vietnamese salt coffee guide.
How close is it to a phin?
Close in strength, a little different in body. A phin's metal filter lets more coffee oils and fine particles through, which gives a heavier, richer cup. A paper filter in a pour-over catches more of them, so the cup tastes a little cleaner and lighter. With sweet milk and ice, most people find both delicious. If you fall in love with the drink, a phin is worth trying; our comparison of the Vietnamese phin vs pour-over explains the differences, and our phin brew guide shows the traditional method.
Making two at once
Double everything: 40 g of coffee and 300 g of water, brewed into a server with 3–4 tablespoons of condensed milk at the bottom. Grind a touch coarser than for one, because the deeper bed drains more slowly, and expect about 3–4 minutes. Stir, then pour into two glasses of ice.
Common questions
Can you make Vietnamese coffee without a phin?
Yes. A pour-over dripper with more coffee, less water, a finer grind and a slow pour gets you a strong base that works with condensed milk and ice.
What is the ratio for Vietnamese coffee in a pour-over?
About 1:7 to 1:8, for example 20 g of coffee to 150 g of water. A normal pour-over is around 1:16.
Can I use regular coffee instead of dark roast?
Yes, but a medium roast tastes brighter and less chocolatey under the milk. If you use it, try the stronger end (22–24 g of coffee).
Try it tomorrow
Put the condensed milk in a glass tonight and leave the dripper beside it. In the morning: 20 g of coffee, 150 g of water, small slow pours and a glass of ice. For more iced ideas, see our iced pour-over recipe.
Let it drip.
— Tran Vu Doan, Phin & Clay