Vietnamese salted coffee, or cà phê muối, is a unique and addicting sweet and salty drink. If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s truly an experience! This coffee is rich, creamy, and bold, with just the right touch of salt to perfectly balance the flavors.

While you’ll find it in almost every café or coffee stall in Vietnam, it’s a bit harder to come by in the U.S. The good news? You can make this iconic drink right at home. The salted sweet cream is simple to whip up, and brewing Vietnamese coffee is easier than you might think!

Here’s how to make a Vietnamese salted coffee at home!

What is Salted Coffee?

Cà phê muối, or Vietnamese salted coffee, is a specialty drink from Hue. The drink is a layered blend of strong, robust Vietnamese coffee—typically brewed using a metal drip filter—topped with a creamy mixture of sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, and a pinch of salt.

The salt enhances the coffee’s natural flavors, adding depth and complexity while balancing the sweetness of the cream.

What Does Cà Phê Muối Taste Like?

Vietnamese salt coffee is a velvety, rich drink with a complex taste experience that’s both sweet and savory, with a lingering smoothness and a touch of umami.

Some describe it as a more complex, grown-up version of a salted caramel latte but with a uniquely Vietnamese twist that’s both refreshing and addictive. Cà phê muối has since become a must-try for coffee lovers and a signature drink that captures Vietnamese coffee culture’s creativity and bold flavors.

Salt in Coffee

Skeptical about adding salt to coffee? I was, too, until I learned that it can actually make coffee taste better and less bitter—it’s a well-loved trick for enhancing flavor!

Salt cuts through the natural bitterness of coffee, creating a smoother, rounder taste—perfect for enhancing bold, dark roasts. This little trick lets the coffee’s subtler flavors, like its natural sweetness or hints of chocolate, shine through without any harshness.

Food Science Break: Salt reduces the bitterness of coffee because salt sodium ions bind to the salt receptors on your tongue, blocking bitter taste receptors and enhancing other tastes like sweetness. This is known as cross-modal perception, a scientific phenomenon that explains why we add salt to sweet drinks and desserts!

This method isn’t new, either. Adding salt to coffee is common in several coffee-loving cultures. In Sweden, a pinch of salt softens the bitterness of dark roasts, while in Turkey, salted coffee has been enjoyed for centuries for its fuller, richer flavor. Similarly, in Vietnamese salted coffee, salt balances the sweetness of condensed milk, creating a delicious, addictive mix of sweet and savory.

Where did Vietnamese Salted Coffee Come From?

As mentioned, cà phê muối or Vietnamese salted coffee, is a specialty drink from Hue, a historic city in central Vietnam. Husband-and-wife cafe owners, Mr. Phong and Mrs. Hương, created this drink at their café, Ca Phe Muoi, a small but beloved café where the drink first appeared.

They devised this unique twist on Vietnamese coffee to boost sales and attract more customers, which worked! Adding a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness of condensed milk created a drink different from other coffee drinks. Locals and travelers quickly fell in love with the flavor, and soon, salted coffee spread to other regions across Vietnam, becoming a beloved specialty.

Now, you’ll find this drink on practically every menu. It’s crazy how fast this drink spread to the point where it’s an integral part of Vietnamese coffee culture, similar to how Thai iced tea grew!

What is in Vietnamese Salted Coffee?

Vietnamese salted coffee is strongly brewed robusta coffee mixed with condensed milk, poured over ice, and topped with a sweet and salty whipped cream. It’s usually 1/2 cream and 2/3 extremely strong coffee, which balances out the coffee’s bitterness and strength.

Some places will have the cream on top of black coffee, and others will serve it with sweetened coffee. You definitely cannot have Vietnamese coffee without condensed milk, though, which is a quintessential sweetener!

This coffee is also served with a lot of crushed ice, which helps cool down the coffee fast and gives it a satisfying stirring sound.

What is So Special About Vietnamese Coffee?

Vietnamese iced coffee is a strongly brewed drip coffee mixed with condensed milk poured over crushed ice. It uses robusta beans, which are darker, stronger, and more bitter in flavor than arabica beans. It also has more caffeine and a thicker mouthfeel, producing a more viscous texture.

It’s also brewed using a phin, a special coffee filter that drips coffee slowly, giving it a strong and high caffeine amount. Vietnamese coffee is known for its intense flavor, which is roasted and slightly burnt.

While you can drink it straight, many people prefer having Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk, which adds an incredible creaminess and sweetness. It’s what makes Vietnamese coffee so addicting.

How to Make a Vietnamese Salted Coffee

To make a Vietnamese salted coffee at home, you’ll need:

• Robusta beans (ground)
• Phin coffee filter
• Hot water
• Condensed milk
• Heavy cream
• Salt
• Ice

Vietnamese Salted Coffee Recipe

1. Brew coffee. Add coffee grounds to the phin filter and a little water to let the grounds bloom for 30-45 seconds. Then, add water to the top of the filter, add the lid, and let the coffee brew for 5-7 minutes. The coffee should be dark. You can check this tutorial for troubleshooting. Dissolve a little condensed milk in it if desired.
2. Make salted cream. Whip heavy cream, condensed milk or sugar, and salt until soft and fluffy. It should be fluffy yet pourable.
3. Assemble drink. Add ice and brewed coffee to a separate cup, then top with the salted cream. Sprinkle on some cocoa powder if desired.
4. Mix and enjoy!

Where to Find a Phin Coffee Filter

You truly cannot make Vietnamese coffee without the phin, a special coffee filter that makes Vietnamese coffee what it is! You can find a phin at any Asian grocery store in the kitchen tools aisle. It’s a small, metal, cylindrical filter that usually costs less than $5.

You could also try buying one from a Vietnamese deli or cafe, but you’ll have the best chance in a grocery store. I’m sure you could also find one online as well!

Phin filters are easy to use but takes a little practice to perfect the brewing technique.

Tips

Here are some tips for making a delicious Vietnamese salted coffee at home!

• To create that velvety texture, the sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream must be well-whisked. If you don’t have a handheld frother or electric mixer, you can also use a hand whisk; make sure to whip it fast!
• Start with just a pinch of salt in the cream mixture—too much salt can overwhelm the flavor. You can always adjust based on your taste preference.
• Use robusta coffee to get that classic Vietnamese coffee flavor! Robusta coffee is bitterer, has more caffeine, and has a more oily texture, characteristic of Vietnamese coffee.