Don't let filter coffee wither away.

(NLĐO) - I've asked many people, but no one has been able to give a satisfactory answer as to when filter coffee became so captivating.

Sometime in the 19th century, coffee plants were introduced to Vietnam by the French. Perhaps the coffee filter also came to our country from there, and has since become a symbol throughout the history of coffee in this S-shaped land.

When talking about filter coffee, people immediately think of sidewalk cafes, humble coffee shops, places so familiar to Vietnamese people that it would be strange to miss a cup of filter coffee every morning.

Coffee filters have become such an indispensable tool in everyone's life that mentioning them immediately conjures images of wooden or plastic chairs that can be used as tables or even as makeshift seating.

Vietnamese people enjoy a strong, fragrant cup of filter coffee every morning while watching the people go by. I've asked many people, but no one has given a satisfactory answer as to when filter coffee became so captivating. In my opinion, filter coffee remains, to this day, widely agreed upon as the best way to brew coffee.

However, the problem of contaminated coffee has driven people away from the traditional Vietnamese filter coffee maker and towards machine-brewed coffee. Perhaps people have come to assume that filter-brewed coffee is inherently "dirty," both in the coffee itself and the brewing method. In reality, both filter and machine brewing can be "dirty" because when the process is "outside the box," you can't know if the ingredients are of good quality or if the seller is ethical. Be wary of cheap cups of coffee!

Therefore, our task is to say no to dirty coffee, to dishonest business practices, and together preserve filter-brewed coffee so that this culture does not fade away but instead endures for generations to come. Let the morning cup of filter-brewed coffee remain a beautiful and inherent part of Vietnamese culture.

(Entry for the "Impressions on Vietnamese Coffee and Tea" contest 2026, part of the 4th "Celebrating Vietnamese Coffee and Tea" program organized by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper).

Source: https://nld.com.vn/dung-de-ca-phe-pha-phin-chet-mon-196260311120357939.htm