Tips for customizing Starbucks orders to taste like a Vietnamese iced coffee have trended on social media, including TikTok, in recent months. More and more users are offering suggestions on how to order a specialized version of the sweet, caffeinated drink that they swear is amazing — a salted coffee, called ca phe muoi .
One small coffee shop in the historic city of Hue in Vietnam, is credited with inventing this popular drink, made with condensed milk and Vietnamese coffee. The mixture is topped with salted cream and served hot or cold.
“We created salt coffee in 2010 when we opened our first cafe Ca Phe Muoi at 10 Nguyen Luong Bang Street,” the co-owners said in an email. Ho Thi Thanh Huong It is Tran Nguyen Huu Phong, to the CNN Travel .
“This combination of condensed milk, salt and black coffee [cria uma] creamy mixture that softens the bitterness of the coffee and balances the sweetness of the condensed milk.”
The name of the coffee and the famous drink is revealing: “Ca phe” means coffee and “muoi” means salt in Vietnamese .
“We hoped that the name would appeal to people because people always think that black coffee can only be had with sugar or milk… We thought that if we wanted to open a coffee shop, we would have to do something a little different to attract customers, so the taste of coffee with salt would make consumers loyal,” say the couple.
The strategy worked. Curious locals and tourists began visiting—and they liked what they were drinking. “People in Hue used to drink black coffee with sugar or condensed milk, so salted coffee was considered a strange drink “, they add.
“We were really grateful to our early customers who were willing to try this strange drink and gave us feedback so we could quickly perfect the flavors.”
Soon, salted coffee became known as a specialty drink that represents historic Hue, and coffee shops across Vietnam began serving it as well. “After the Covid years, Salted coffee seems to be a trend all over Vietnam ”, say the founders of Ca Phe Muoi.
“In Hue, coffee with salt has become a daily drink such as black coffee or coffee with milk. This trend brings more changes to our business.”
Today, the coffee shop also bottles the coffee with salt to sell in other Vietnamese cities.
While the name may put some people off, the flavors really work. Sweetened milk and cream balance the bitterness of the coffee, and salt enhances the sweetness. — much like how a little salt in salted caramel makes the caramel flavors more prominent.
Even Starbucks branches in Vietnam have jumped on the salted coffee bandwagon, launching their own version of ca phe muoi in May this year.
Vietnam isn’t the only country that adds salt to coffee. In 2023, a Bon Appetit article suggested that we should all add salt to our coffee to reduce some of the bitterness and enhance the flavors, noting that it’s a centuries-old tradition in countries like Turkey, Hungary, and Siberia.
Growing global interest in Vietnamese coffee
Vietnam, which primarily grows robusta beans, is the second largest coffee exporter in the world after Brazil. The country’s coffee exports have already reached US$2.9 billion (around R$16.1 billion at the current exchange rate) in the first five months of this year, marking an increase of 43.9% compared to the same period last year, according to the International Trade Council.
The fact that salted coffee has become popular in Hue’s coffee shops and is a common option on menus across Vietnam should come as no great surprise.
First introduced by French colonists in the 1850s, coffee is extremely popular throughout the country. Coffee outlets range from simple counters with plastic sidewalk stools to stylish, contemporary cafes with on-site roasters. Read more about Vietnam coffee culture here.
Traditional Vietnamese coffee is prepared in a phin — a filtered metal brewing device — placed over a cup or pot. Many people prefer to stir a tablespoon or two of condensed milk into the strong infusion.
Salted coffee is just one of several different Vietnamese coffee drinks that may surprise those who have not tried them yet.
Perhaps the most famous of all is egg coffee, or ca phe trung. Invented in Hanoi, this dessert-like recipe adds a topping of egg yolks, foamed with condensed milk, to a coffee base.
There is coffee with coconut — ca phe cot dua — which features coffee blended with coconut milk and ice — a frozen treat with a tropical twist.
In the coffee blended with fruit — sinh to ca phe —, coffee is combined with banana or avocado to produce a smoothie.
And finally, there is the coffee with yogurt — your rain ca phe — which features black coffee poured over creamy Vietnamese yogurt, another French legacy.
According to a report by global market research agency Mintel, released in 2023, Consumers outside of Asia are increasingly interested in these new coffee experiences and flavors . About 71% of Gen Z consumers surveyed by Mintel in the US expressed an interest in trying Asian-inspired coffee drinks, such as Vietnamese coffee.
In the US, 7 Leaves Café, a coffee chain that sells Vietnamese drinks, has expanded to more than 40 locations nationwide after opening its first café in California in 2011.
About that, Independent Vietnamese coffee shops have been popping up across the United States with Phin Ca Phe in Seattle and Càphê Roasters in Philadelphia offering salted versions of coffee. Across the Atlantic in London, England, places like Caphe House offer a variety of Vietnamese coffee drinks, including ca phe trung.
Back in Hue, Huong and Phong say most of their customers order coffee with salt, although there are other items on the menu, such as chanh xi muoi, a special homemade lemonade with salted lemon jelly . Even though they serve both iced and hot versions of coffee with salt, they believe that the iced version is the tastiest.
The couple now have a second, larger branch, Ca Phe Muoi, close to the palace and the former Imperial City of Hue.
“We are happy and feel proud because we have made a drink that is loved by many people and is even considered a specialty of Hue,” they say.
Source: CNN Brasil
Johanna Foster is an expert opinion writer with over 7 years of experience. She has a reputation for delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles on a variety of subjects. Her work can be found on some of the top online news websites, and she is currently lending her voice to the world stock market.
