Every visitor come to Vietnam are surprised that Vietnam is the second largest coffee producing country in the world and how Vietnamese enjoy coffee is not the same with the rest of the world. People enjoy coffee while working, meeting, and discussing with the partners, chatting with friends or when entertaining. . . Coffee consider as a part of work and life. Cafe originated from the West, followed by the French imported into Vietnam from colonial times. This drink was originally served for social elite. Gradually, coffee became a popular drink for everyone. Now Vietnam is famous for many coffee brand for instance Nescafe, Vina cafe, Trung Nguyen café… But the Vietnamese has style to enjoy their very own coffee. Due to the habits and the region, coffee drinking style in Hanoi, Hue and Saigon is very different.

Coffee Habit of Hanoi People

The drinking coffee style of Hanoi people is quite similar to in Hue. They also have two kinds of coffee: coffee with sugar or milk. Because of colder weather than Hue so Hanoi people often drink less ice. They have to divide into 4 different coffee: brown iced coffee, black iced coffee, brown and black coffee Hanoi people also create a kind of coffee that should be tried in every Hanoi day tour: Egg coffee

Then every time they go to a café, they also have the habit of sitting, enjoying coffee and looking at the sky. But Hanoi doesn’t have a quiet and peaceful space like Hue. So you will not be surprised if Hanoi people sit and drink coffee in a very old poor shop silently watching the noisy and crowded streets. However, Hanoi people are not as diligent in drinking coffee as Hue people. They do not have a morning coffee habit, except for the retirees or those who have no job for the time. They often go to coffee shops in the evening. They drink coffee in small glasses or porcelain cups. The amount of coffee mixed into each cup a little more than Hue, so the coffee is weaker.

Coffee Habit of Hue people

Because of the lack of the amusement park, Hue people can go to the café at any time of the day. The coffee culture of the Hue people can be encapsulated in three words: dense, delicate and slow. Whenever they want to drink coffee, they just sit on a street stall along the river or sidewalk. Hue people only drink “phin” coffee (filter coffee). The stall uses small glass cups to hold coffee, ice for the coffee must be the big ice, leaving a couple of ice waiting for it to melt slowly. There are only two types of coffee in Hue: iced coffee and milk coffee.

Café in Hue is very quiet and peaceful. People play music often light music like Trinh music or pre-war music. Hue people are rarely coarse laugh, they often murmured chat, sometimes they silently watching the Perfume River, or hear the night flutter.

Coffee Habit of Saigon people

Unlike Hue and Hanoi, Saigon coffee culture is very generous. Saigon people consider coffee not only to sip, enjoy but also is a kind of beverage. So, when in the summer in Saigon, you will occasionally see, someone rushed to a counter or street vendor, bought a coffee, finished in a second and then went away. The Saigon coffee mix is also very special: a lot of ice, less coffee. Saigon coffee cups look like cups of coke, both in color and weight as well as function. In the coffee shop, if you order a glass of milk coffee or iced coffee, they will give you a large glass of all the ingredients you need to drink. If a Hanoi and Hue citizen first goes to Saigon, then going to drink coffee will create a light culture shock.

Only in Saigon, people drink coffee with a straw. Saigon people drink coffee also very sweet, almost overwhelm the bitter taste of the coffee. Not to mention, their coffee mix has been very weak. Few Hanoi and Hue people can drink a cup of Saigon coffee because it is tasteless and too sweet. Meanwhile, the Saigon people cannot drink coffee Hanoi – Hue style, too strong and too slow
Saigon People go to the café to have lunch and talk about work, drinking coffee to go to work … After finishing their coffee, they go to do some work, not delay.

Source: vietvisiontravel.com

Coffee Habit of Vietnamese people
Nguyen Thanh Van

Cà phê vợt means “stocking coffee,” a direct reference to a cloth filter the family uses to strain coffee ground.

This method is popular among stalls operated by those of Chinese descent in old Saigon, before French-style filters – or phin in Vietnamese – started dominating the market.

Here are 3 Café Vợt that have existed for more than half a century to attract visitors, do not miss it!

1.Cheo Leo Cafe is located at 109/36 Nguyen Thien Thuat, Ward 2, District 3

Hidden in the heart of District 3’s “chessboard” neighborhood – a network of intersecting alleys that can easily bewilder first-timers in town – Cheo Leo Café is more than just a street coffee shop: it’s a Saigon landmark, a family heirloom and a cultural hangout all rolled into one simple shopfront.

Photo: nguyenmx13

Over the past eight decades, Cheo Leo has gained a reputation among Saigon’s coffee lovers for its sole focus on coffee flavor sans embellishment.

For the three sisters, running Cheo Leo is less about making a profit and more about keeping their father’s legacy going; the fame they’ve gotten over the years is just a nice bonus.

Photo: linhmel

Photo: thuongngo2211

2. Café vợt of Mr Thanh is located at Alley 313 Tan Phuoc, Ward 6, District 11 

Photo: hanhienj

Located behind Thiec Market in District 11 (HCMC), although Mr Thanh’s small cafe on Tan Phuoc Street has no signboard, it’s still well-known. Just like making tea, the hand-crafted coffee-making process is to put the coffee powder in a cloth filter in a clay cooking pot, and then pour some boiling water into it. A few minutes later the coffee is poured into the warm aluminum, placed on the stove before serving guests. Each hot black coffee costs VND 4,000 and hot milk coffee is VND 6,000.

Photo: Thi Hà

Photo: Thi Hà

Photo: huanlephotography

Photo: su.candyy

3. Café vợt in 330/2 Phan Dinh Phung Street, Phu Nhuan District.

The café, owned by Dan Trang Con (Mr. Ba) and his wife Tuyet, has been open for the past 60 years and shows no signs of stopping. We found Ms. Tuyet busily brewing up coffee for the dozen or so customers on their mopeds waiting for their morning takeaway, drowning herself in cup after cup a black coffee with sugar.

Photo: kellankhuu

Photo: vosan___

No hustle or bustle, visitors coming here just want to enjoy the taste of old coffee and in that space, it reminds of the image of an old, simple, rustic Saigon in the minds of each person.  Each glass is 15,000 VND and only cash is accepted.

3 Café Vợt over half century in Sai Gon
Nguyen Thanh Van