Vietnamese Iced Coffee Recipe

 

I have a super simple recipe for those of you that love iced coffee as much as I do.  Making Vietnamese coffee is a simple and so good!

Vietnamese coffee is a super concentrated and strong coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk.  Now you just have to trust me on this because the coffee turns out to be creamy, delicious and very addicting.  I first stumbled upon Vietnamese iced coffee at Whole Foods.  They have a delicious one available in the deli that is made on site.  I soon found myself popping into Whole Foods regularly to grab a coffee but at $4 each, it starts to add up.  Plus it is so simple to make at home and control exactly what is going into your drink.

I do want to preface the recipe by saying that I do not care for overly sweet coffee drinks.  I am actually the only person on the planet that doesn’t like Pumpkin Spice Lattes and even a regular Mocha is too sweet for me.  This Vietnamese coffee you can make as rich and creamy as you like or just give a strong iced coffee a hint of sweetness. Totally up to your personal taste.

Here is the super, super simple recipe:

You can purchase cold brew coffee concentrate from most stores these days- I even see it at Target or just make your own in a few minutes.  I have posted a cold brew coffee recipe before here  but to recap here is the process:

Choose a strong coffee such as Cafe Bustelo or Cafe du Monde or a french roast coffee of your choice and scoop one cup into a large jar and add 6-8 cups of water.  The less water added the stronger the coffee will be.  I like 6 cups.

Stir quickly- you will have something that sort of looks like brownie mixture.  Let that sit for 6-24 hours.

Once the coffee has had time to soak in the water for several hours, I like to just line a strainer with a few coffee filters or cheesecloth and pour the coffee mixture through to sift out all the grounds.  I pour it into a large measuring cup and then pour that into my final container to store in the fridge.

You should have pure cold brew left to drink.  Be sure to use at least 3 coffee filters so you don’t get a mouthful of grounds in your final product.   This takes just a few minutes of actual hands on time and then you have a nice big batch of cold brew to keep in the fridge for up to a month.

Now you just need sweetened condensed milk and that cold brew that you already made.  I like to pour the can of sweetened condensed milk into a jar and it will stay in the fridge for several weeks just fine.

The only trick is really getting the sweetened condensed milk completely incorporated with the coffee so you don’t have globs at the bottom of your glass.  I find it easier to do before adding ice.

I add up to two tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk, just a splash of half n half or milk and that is it.  You have a delicious little afternoon pick me up.

You can totally make a bunch of these in advance too!  Just mix the coffee and condensed milk and leave the ice out of the drink.  Pop into a mason jar and store in the fridge.  When you are ready to drink just shake well and add ice.

*Note: Traditionally Vietnamese coffee is made with a special little coffee filter.  They are super inexpensive if you want to really make an authentic cup.  I prefer to make the cold brew coffee and add condensed milk to keep the process super simple and easy.  

Here are some things that come in handy to make this recipe:

Cafe du Monde Coffee //  Large Mason Jar (I store the cold brew in this in my fridge) // strainer // Vietnamese Coffee Strainer (optional) // Sweetened Condensed Milk

Here are a few other recipes you might enjoy:

Chai Sugar Cookies (these are so good!)

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Crock Pot Dulce de Leche (easy way to use up extra condensed milk)