How to make Vietnamese phin condense milk coffee, iced and hot, at home

Name: Vietnamese phin condense milk coffee (iced and hot)
Total time: 7 min
Yield: 1 cup
Ingredients: Medium-ground coffee · 25 g; Just-boiled water · 100 ml; Sweetened condensed milk · 30–40 ml; Ice cubes (iced version) · about 150 g; Hot water to warm the cup (hot version)

Vietnamese milk coffee is strong phin coffee dripped onto condensed milk and stirred, then drunk iced or hot. The iced version, called nâu đá in the north, is one of Vietnam's best-known coffee drinks.

Time 7 min
Difficulty Easy
Serves 1 cup
Phin filter

Coffee: 25 g
Water: 100 ml · 92–96 °C
Condensed milk: 30–40 ml (hot: 20–30 ml)
Ice (iced version): 1 full glass, about 150 g
Drip time: 4–5 min

You need

Medium-ground coffee · 25 g
Just-boiled water · 100 ml
Sweetened condensed milk · 30–40 ml
Ice cubes (iced version) · about 150 g
Hot water to warm the cup (hot version)

Method

Put 30–40 ml of condensed milk in the bottom of a glass (hot: 20–30 ml, and stand the cup in a bowl of hot water to keep it warm).
Boil the water and let it rest for about 30 seconds, to around 92–96 °C.
Rinse the phin with boiling water to warm it, pour the water away, and set it on the glass of milk.
Add 25 g of coffee, shake it level, and set the press screen on top without pressing hard.
Pour about 20–25 ml of water to bloom. Let the grounds swell.
Pour in the rest of the water, to 100 ml in all, and put the lid on. Let it drip through. The coffee falls onto the milk.
Lift off the phin and stir while the coffee is hot, until the condensed milk has dissolved.
Iced: fill the glass with ice, stir a few more times and serve. Hot: drink it straight away.

Tip: Hot milk coffee: skip the ice, use 20–30 ml of condensed milk and keep the cup in a bowl of hot water while it drips so the coffee stays warm. For the foamy top you get in cafés (iced), shake the sweetened coffee with a few ice cubes for 15–20 seconds and pour it over fresh ice.