Vietnam. Coffee was introduced to Vietnam by French colonists in 1857. Condensed milk replaced fresh milk (which was scarce and expensive) as the standard addition. The phin filter was developed as a simple, single-serve brewing device. Vietnam is now the world's second-largest coffee producer (predominantly Robusta).
Cà phê sữa đá (Vietnamese iced coffee) is made with a phin (Vietnamese metal drip filter) — coarsely ground Robusta-heavy coffee drips slowly through the filter directly into a glass of sweetened condensed milk. Ice is added after the coffee drips. The result is intensely strong, sweet, creamy, and served over ice — the most efficient coffee delivery system in Southeast Asia. It is street food, it is breakfast, it is the national beverage.
- Thai iced coffee (oliang — stronger, sometimes with corn and sesame — the Thai version); Singaporean kopi (coffee with condensed milk — the similar Singaporean coffee tradition); Italian espresso (espresso with no ice — the concentrated single-serve coffee the phin was adapted from).
Bánh mì or bánh cuốn (steamed rice crepe) for breakfast alongside — the sweet, cold, intensely caffeinated coffee is the standard street food breakfast pairing in Vietnam. The condensed milk sweetness and the bitter Robusta are a complete morning circuit.