Foreign visitors are surprised because Vietnamese people drink coffee from morning to night.

A foreign tourist set a goal to try a type of coffee every day: iced brown coffee, coconut milk coffee, salt coffee... during his trip to Vietnam.

Siham Basir, a writer from Pakistan, is not a coffee addict but was very impressed with this "national" drink of the Vietnamese people during her recent trip to Vietnam. "I feel like I can't come back to this country without trying Vietnamese coffee, so I buy coffee every day," Siham told Asia News Network . Tourists can easily find coffee shops or coffee carts almost anywhere in Vietnam. Coffee shops in Vietnam are as ubiquitous on the streets as chai dhaba stalls in Pakistan, except there are "three times more." Siham observed the Vietnamese coffee drinking culture when she stopped by a shop and just sat down and relaxed. "The chairs are very low - you almost have to kneel down - and no one asks you to stand up after finishing your drink," the female tourist said. What's more interesting, Siham notes, is that Vietnamese people relax at coffee shops at all hours of the day - 11am, 12pm, 2pm, 6pm... They sit and watch the street more than facing their companions to chat. "It seems like this seating arrangement is more popular, because I see very few people turning their chairs to face their friends. People sitting alone in coffee shops can easily avoid conversations or eye contact," Siham notes. "In Pakistan, the experience of sitting alone in a coffee shop is not half as enjoyable."

Sitting in a cafe watching the street is a pleasure for many people. Photo: Hong Diep

According to her, coffee in Vietnam is generally cheap, about half the price of what you’d find in Pakistan. Depending on the shop, a glass of iced coffee in Vietnam can cost anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 Vietnamese dong (about $1.18 to $3.93). The airport is the most expensive place to buy coffee, but Siham says high prices are not uncommon at airports. Siham’s first impression of Vietnamese coffee was its modest taste. In a world that values aroma and flavor, Vietnamese coffee is neither too strong nor too bitter. That’s exactly what Siham wanted—a refreshing, cool, sweet drink on a hot day. Interestingly, Vietnamese coffee, or at least the coffees Siham tried, are not made with fresh milk, but with condensed milk. This is good news for Siham, who is lactose intolerant.

Rustic yet charming stone brown. Photo: Nhat Minh

To summarize her trip around Vietnam, Siham tried 8 types of coffee. First was the sweet, cool iced milk coffee - a simple drink that Siham thought tourists could find anywhere. Next was coconut coffee - a version that Siham thought would be loved by many people. Salt coffee was something Siham ordered and thought she might not like. Because, she is a person with a sweet tooth, and salt coffee - as the name suggests - is salty. But Siham was completely surprised by this unprecedented experience, when the salt added a new flavor to the coffee. Iced mocha coffee was a version that did not conquer Siham's taste. She thought that mocha coffee tasted quite like chocolate, nothing new. Egg coffee was a version that made Siham hesitant from the moment she heard the name. She wondered: "Who puts raw eggs in coffee?". But the experience completely surprised her when she tasted the extremely sweet whipped egg cream floating on top of the bitter coffee. "It doesn't smell or taste like eggs like I feared," said the tourist, who became even more excited when she learned about the history of this specialty coffee.

Egg coffee conquers many foreign guests. Photo: Thuy Trang

"Honestly, this is my favorite coffee. I think the iced version of this drink is much better than the hot one," Siham said, adding that she would make her own iced egg coffee when she returns home. Siham concluded her sharing by saying, "Come to Vietnam and try the coffee."

Laodong.vn

Source: https://dulich.laodong.vn/am-thuc/khach-nuoc-ngoai-ngac-nhien-vi-nguoi-viet-uong-ca-phe-tu-sang-den-toi-1360800.html