VIETNAMESE EGG COFFEE

When I was living in Vietnam, growing up a time of crisis in the country, one of the challenges during that time, around the early 80's and 90's was transportation.There was not much in the way of public transportation around the country. When you were in the North and wanted to travel to the South or the other way around, it was a big deal. Not many people were able to travel that far even though its only around 1000 miles. 

In early 2000 when I became U.S citizen and was able to go back visit Vietnam, I traveled around the county. I was shocked and fascinated. Even though Vietnam is a small country on the map, it is no larger than California but there are so many different cultures and foods, so much to see.

The first time I travel to the North and the first time I heard "egg coffee", I had to pause for a moment and think about the word combination. Egg+Coffee=Hummmm. I must admit that the mental image was not pleasant. But I tried it and wait until you tase it!

Egg coffee is mostly popular in the North of Vietnam, I think because they have cold weather there. A hot cup of coffee with something creamy would pair perfectly with the cold weather.

SO, WHAT IS VIETNAMESE EGG COFFEE?

Vietnamese egg coffee (ca phe trung) is made by beating an egg yolk with sweetened condensed milk until it makes an airy, creamy, meringue-like fluff.  This eggy goodness is then slowly poured on top of hot espresso, or iced coffee. I prefer it with hot coffee.

The egg cream on top of the coffee is rich and silky, but not overly sweet. The Vietnamese espresso underneath is strong enough to keep me up through out the day, but perfectly offset by the creamy sweet foam on top. Yes, you can definitely call it a dessert coffee. 

If some of you have traveled to Vietnam and tried egg coffee, you know what I'm talking about. Some of you might have gotten lucky and had good egg coffee prepared by a skilled barista so you just loved it right at the first sip. 

Some of you might not have been that lucky, had a bad one, and with the first sip it tasted like drinking raw cake batter, and had a raw egg after taste, yuck.

Well! I'm lucky enough to have tasted a good one and it has become my addiction. Even luckier, got the best recipe and was taught by a very skilled barista in Hanoi. 

For the last several years I have had many customers come to the shop and ask for egg coffee but I didn't carry it for a few reasons. This year, I felt we have enough help in the shop so I will expand our coffee menu to include egg coffee!

Starting this year, I will have one more traditional drink on the menu. You will have to be adventurous, try it and be the judge. I guaranty you that you will not able to tell it's an egg drink and you will become an egg coffeeholic just as I am.