Everything You Need to Know About Vietnamese Egg Coffee

I love eggs, and this unique Vietnamese coffee has caught my attention. Since there is not much information about this coffee, I thought of creating this blog post about this fantastic Vietnamese coffee.

1. What is the history of Ca Phe Trung (Vietnamese Egg Coffee)?

In the period of French domination of Vietnam, France imported coffee into Vietnam in 1857 and chose the Central Highlands as the place to cultivate this product that is said to be black gold favored by Europe. Since then, Vietnam has seen the appearance of coffee-bean-based drinks initially enjoyed by the wealthy but have progressively expanded to the poorer classes.

Since then, the first wave of coffee imported and culturally integrated into Vietnam arrived in 1975. Coffee served to eliminate the boundary between rich and poor, and everyone could enjoy it, a fragrant filter of coffee after a long day of work. As a result, both North and South Vietnam are seeing an increase in the number of coffee shops.

Nguyen Van Giang, who died in 1987, created egg coffee while working in a kitchen at the renowned French hotel Metropole. He encouraged Vietnamese people to enjoy this delightful drink when creating drinks for international diners, such as cappuccino dishes using components such as coffee, milk, ice cream, etc. However, because fresh milk cream was scarce and expensive at the time, most Vietnamese people could not afford it for themselves.

He immediately thought of a coffee and egg combination. He believed that Vietnam had a lot of tasty eggs, so why not take advantage of them? And since then, egg coffee began to appear at Giang's coffee shop in 1946, a drink that was unique to Vietnamese people at that time but at a low price that all classes of people could enjoy.

2. What makes Ca Phe Trung appealing?

Those who have never had egg coffee will have numerous questions about how the fishy flavor of eggs may be balanced with the bitter content of coffee. But once you've experienced it, no matter how picky a diner is, they'll be fascinated entirely by all five senses, from sight to smell to taste. This is because egg coffee is not only tasty but also visually appealing. The egg foam and coffee combination produce a beautiful golden brown color. Each black coffee bean is filtered through a filter, yet when mixed with beaten eggs, they appear to be divided, erupting in tiny dots and making countless gorgeous natural patterns.

Egg coffee tastes similar to brown coffee with condensed milk but without the intense sweetness when you drink it. It's identical to a latte or cappuccino but not as bland and sharper. The power of coffee remains, but before reaching the bitter aftertaste, the entire throat is filled with the delightful, soft, sweet fat of eggs, butter, sugar, and milk.

3. How to taste this drink properly.

When enjoying egg coffee, you should also consider using it to get the most out of the drink's distinct flavor.

• The best way to enjoy egg coffee is to tilt the cup so that you can drink both the coffee and the egg cream. At this moment, the unique scent of coffee combines with the rich flavor of egg cream.
• Use less egg cream on top and mix the coffee and egg cream. This drink will give you a sweeter taste of coffee while minimizing the bitterness of pure coffee.
• To avoid fishy flavors, use coffee while it is still hot.

5. Where can you find it in Vietnam?

Located in Ha Noi:

Ca Phe Giang: It is undeniable that Giang's egg coffee, from its birth to the present, has never needed to be advertised. People keep talking about the flavor of coffee here, about the joy of sitting and sipping a little cup of coffee at a small store on a small street corner. Customers will flock to you if you perform well in taste, so Giang coffee is regarded as having an "excellent" natural musk flavor. The shop's egg coffee is available in hot egg coffee and iced egg coffee. Giang Café's coffee is appropriately made, without a fishy aftertaste. Instead, you'll get a delicious coffee taste with a greasy aftertaste when you drink it. A stunning coffee cup is produced when the golden floating egg layer combines with the dark brown coffee layer to make a gorgeous coffee cup. Egg coffee in Giang is created not only from ingredients such as eggs, milk, and coffee but also with ingenuity, sophistication, and its unique secret in each stage. If the wrong ingredients are utilized, whisking the eggs quicker or slower by a second can also change the flavor. You might feel many things while sipping on g a cup of egg coffee in Giang. It's not simply meticulousness and care but also a genuine love of the job.

Vuon Pho Co Café: Vuon Pho Co Cafe is a famous coffee shop not just with Vietnamese visitors but also with foreign tourists. The shop has an ancient, vintage atmosphere that isn't overly decorated but evokes a unique attraction. The business is located on the top floor of a historic building, from where you can enjoy the scenic Hoan Kiem Lake and the pleasant Hanoi breeze.

The pleasant aroma of egg coffee entices visitors to the Vuon Pho Co Café. The egg coffee here is the same as at other coffee places. However, the coffee cup has been crafted to appeal to the eye, which moderates sweetness, producing a soft sensation on the tip of the tongue with a smooth, aromatic coffee flavor. At the weekends, sitting with a cup of coffee and a cup of sunflower seeds at the Vuon Pho Co Café is genuinely remarkable.

Located in Ho Chi Minh:

Lưu Gia café & food:

According to the traditional recipe, egg coffee does not have a fishy smell since the eggs are only taken with the yolk and de-fished with flavorings and herbs. The area is tight, but it's cleverly laid out with two delightful floors. Upstairs is calm, like milk tea cafes, air-conditioned, and with jazz music playing, ideal for gatherings and working sessions. The ground floor has a more casual esthetic, suitable for those who appreciate naturalness and simplicity. With such an excellent environment for enjoying coffee, people may claim this place to be one of the spots to

enjoy egg coffee that tourists cannot miss when visiting Saigon. The unique combination of three drinks is called "egg coffee, egg cocoa, and egg matcha."

Lang Cafe:

When you visit Lang Café, which is located on the street in the heart of District 10, you will feel as if you have entered an entirely peaceful world, your realm. Lang Café is designed to be a welcoming clubhouse with a completely distinct welcoming style that will present you with a variety of surprising and thrilling experiences. You can wander about and have egg coffee in a pleasant environment with soothing sounds and colors. The second level, with its open, significant, distinct, and quiet space, is ideal for gatherings, birthday celebrations, etc.

Lang Café serves a nutritious, delicious, and hygienic egg coffee with ice cream for breakfast, prepared by expert chefs. This is also a peaceful area where you can surf the web, chat with friends, or work on your computer.

Conclusion

The line of people and cars below can speed away, diners arriving here can only sit for a second before hurrying away, time still flies, but the bitter-sweet flavor of egg coffee will remain with you for a long time. It is like rock music has been available for many years and has not ended, and we always have a complete domain of memories to recall.

FAQs about Vietnamese Egg Coffee

What is Vietnamese egg coffee, and is it actually made with egg? How does Vietnamese egg coffee actually taste? Can I make Vietnamese egg coffee at home, or is it too tricky? Is raw or undercooked egg in coffee actually safe? Where can I try authentic Vietnamese egg coffee outside Vietnam?

What is Vietnamese egg coffee, and is it actually made with egg?

Yes, real eggs. Vietnamese egg coffee (cà phê trứng) is hot or iced coffee topped with a foamy mixture of egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and sometimes vanilla. The egg yolks are whisked vigorously with the condensed milk until they form a custard-like foam — visually similar to a cappuccino but with a richer, denser texture. The foam sits on top of strong Vietnamese coffee, creating a layered drink that's eaten as much as drunk.

Created in 1946 in Hanoi by Nguyen Van Giang at Café Giang. The story: milk was scarce in postwar Vietnam, so Giang substituted whisked egg yolks for the dairy in a Vietnamese take on Italian cappuccino. Café Giang still exists in Hanoi and is the canonical destination for traditional Vietnamese egg coffee. The cultural significance is real; this isn't a tourist invention.

Vietnamese egg coffee has spread globally with the Vietnamese diaspora. Vietnamese cafés in major U.S. cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Boston) often serve egg coffee. The texture-and-flavor experience is genuinely distinctive — somewhere between coffee and dessert.

How does Vietnamese egg coffee actually taste?

Custard-like, sweet, deeply rich. The egg-and-condensed-milk foam tastes like crème brûlée or warm tiramisu mascarpone — sweet, thick, with cooked-egg richness that's not eggy in a savory sense. The strong Vietnamese coffee underneath cuts through the sweetness and provides the bitter-roasted backbone. Combined, it's not really coffee in the daily-coffee sense; it's a coffee-flavored dessert drink.

Sweetness is high — sweetened condensed milk does most of the flavor work. People who prefer unsweetened coffee usually find Vietnamese egg coffee too sweet for daily drinking. People who enjoy sweet coffee drinks (frappuccinos, mochas, lattes with syrup) usually love Vietnamese egg coffee.

Texture is the defining feature. The foam sits on top, you spoon through it as you drink, and the experience is more like eating warm custard than drinking coffee. Many first-time drinkers underestimate how substantial the drink is — half a serving often satisfies as a dessert-and-coffee combo.

Can I make Vietnamese egg coffee at home, or is it too tricky?

Doable, with practice. Method: brew strong Vietnamese coffee (use Vietnamese coffee beans like Trung Nguyen if available; otherwise dark-roasted French roast works) using a phin (Vietnamese drip filter) or strong espresso. While brewing, whisk 1 egg yolk + 1.5 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract until thick and pale yellow (about 2-3 minutes of vigorous whisking; electric mixer is faster). Pour brewed coffee into cup, top with whisked egg foam, dust with cocoa powder if desired. Total time: ~10 minutes.

First attempts often produce thin foam (under-whisked) or grainy foam (egg over-cooked from too-hot coffee). The fixes: whisk longer until you get a thick, pale, custardy texture; let coffee cool slightly before topping (around 160°F / 70°C, not boiling).

Vietnamese coffee specifically uses Robusta beans, which are bolder and more bitter than Arabica. Substituting darker Arabica works but the resulting drink is slightly different. Japanese-style charcoal-roasted blends like the French Roast Blend approach Vietnamese coffee depth at high quality and could substitute well for the coffee base.

French Roast Blend (Colombia, Brazil, Indonesia) USD $25.00 From USD $19.99 /

Is raw or undercooked egg in coffee actually safe?

Generally safe at typical use frequency, with caveats. Vietnamese egg coffee uses raw or barely-cooked egg yolk (the heat from coffee is partial cooking, but yolk doesn't fully heat through). Pasteurized eggs from commercial U.S. supply mostly eliminate Salmonella risk; standard raw eggs have small (about 1 in 20,000) Salmonella risk per egg.

People who should avoid raw-egg coffee: pregnant women, immunocompromised individuals, very young children, very elderly adults. Standard food-safety guidance about raw eggs applies. For these populations, pasteurized eggs (sold as such in U.S. supermarkets) eliminate the risk entirely.

For everyone else, occasional Vietnamese egg coffee at reputable cafés or made from quality eggs at home is low-risk. Daily consumption raises cumulative risk slightly but not dramatically. Most Vietnamese egg coffee drinkers globally have decades of consumption history without significant illness rates.

Where can I try authentic Vietnamese egg coffee outside Vietnam?

Vietnamese cafés in U.S. cities with significant Vietnamese-American populations are the standard. San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, and Washington DC all have multiple Vietnamese cafés serving egg coffee. Cafés explicitly named "Vietnamese" or "cà phê" usually have it on the menu. New York, Chicago, and Toronto have growing Vietnamese café scenes too.

If your city has a Vietnamese restaurant district (Little Saigon neighborhoods exist in many U.S. cities), the cafés there typically serve egg coffee. Yelp and Google search for "Vietnamese egg coffee near me" identifies specific options in most major metropolitan areas.

Outside the U.S., Vietnamese diaspora cafés in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne), France (Paris specifically), Germany, and the UK serve egg coffee. Less common in non-Western Asian countries with their own coffee traditions (Japan, Korea, Taiwan), where Vietnamese coffee is more of a tourist-curiosity option than a mainstream offering.

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