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For most Westerners, Vietnam conjures up images of jungle and rice paddies or beautiful women in Ao Dai seeming to glide as they walk.
Coffee professionals will know that Vietnam is the worlds second largest producer.
Unless they have spent time in Vietnam, no one will understand the importance of coffee and its culture to the Vietnamese.
I first struck the Vietnamese coffee culture in the seaside city of Vung tau.
I had been picked up by my hosts at Ton Son nhat airport in Saigon and taken by minibus to Vung Tau. I met the family and settled in to my room , then it was time for dinner.
After dinner, my host suggested we go for coffee.
We travelled down to the waterfront, and to my amazement, every one in the city of half a million seemed to be there. One cafe after another lined the road, all of them busy with groups of family and friends enjoying the cool evening breeze with a coffee.
We sat down in one of the cafes, a medium sized affair seating about 300, and ordered our drinks.
Soon after, a waitress brought our coffees to the table. This was my first experience with a Ca Phe Phin, the little aluminium filter that sits on the glass making a single serve of delicious coffee. We also had taller glasses full of ice. It takes about 3-4 minutes for the coffee to filter into the glass. We watched the passing parade of motorbikes and people while the group attempted to ask me about Australia in their rudimentary english.Hai showed me how to use thelidof the phin to catch any drips, stir in a little sugar then tip the thick dark liquid over the ice.
Wow! this was like no coffee I had ever tasted before.
The rich flavours with hints of chocolate a nd vanilla and the strength of the first sip before the ice started todilute the coffee make an instant impression. Half an hour later I ordered another, then, like the rest of the group, tipped jasmine tea into the glass of ice and lst of the coffee for a refreshing end to the evening.
Since then, I have drunk Ca Phe Da (literally, coffee with ice) all over the country. The morning starts with a coffee. At ho,e I make my own, but in Vietnam, I walk outside and spend less than 50 centson a Ca phe Da with the first vendor I see.
But most important, I sit down, wait for my coffee to drip into the glass, lokk arround, make contact with people4, even if its just eye contact with me pointing at myself and saying Uc, the vietnamese word for Australia. Everyone smiles at each other, the coffee is relaxation, not something to be carried away i a paper cup and thrown down the throat regardless of taste while you run for the bus or negotiate the freeway.
The west has a lot to learn from the Vietnamese enjoyment of coffee.
We have allowed convenience to override our need for time to relax and enjoy one of lifes pleasures.
A nondescript espresso or latte, gulped down on the way to do something else, is not a coffee break
Coffee professionals will know that Vietnam is the worlds second largest producer.
Unless they have spent time in Vietnam, no one will understand the importance of coffee and its culture to the Vietnamese.
I first struck the Vietnamese coffee culture in the seaside city of Vung tau.
I had been picked up by my hosts at Ton Son nhat airport in Saigon and taken by minibus to Vung Tau. I met the family and settled in to my room , then it was time for dinner.
After dinner, my host suggested we go for coffee.
We travelled down to the waterfront, and to my amazement, every one in the city of half a million seemed to be there. One cafe after another lined the road, all of them busy with groups of family and friends enjoying the cool evening breeze with a coffee.
We sat down in one of the cafes, a medium sized affair seating about 300, and ordered our drinks.
Soon after, a waitress brought our coffees to the table. This was my first experience with a Ca Phe Phin, the little aluminium filter that sits on the glass making a single serve of delicious coffee. We also had taller glasses full of ice. It takes about 3-4 minutes for the coffee to filter into the glass. We watched the passing parade of motorbikes and people while the group attempted to ask me about Australia in their rudimentary english.Hai showed me how to use thelidof the phin to catch any drips, stir in a little sugar then tip the thick dark liquid over the ice.
Wow! this was like no coffee I had ever tasted before.
The rich flavours with hints of chocolate a nd vanilla and the strength of the first sip before the ice started todilute the coffee make an instant impression. Half an hour later I ordered another, then, like the rest of the group, tipped jasmine tea into the glass of ice and lst of the coffee for a refreshing end to the evening.
Since then, I have drunk Ca Phe Da (literally, coffee with ice) all over the country. The morning starts with a coffee. At ho,e I make my own, but in Vietnam, I walk outside and spend less than 50 centson a Ca phe Da with the first vendor I see.
But most important, I sit down, wait for my coffee to drip into the glass, lokk arround, make contact with people4, even if its just eye contact with me pointing at myself and saying Uc, the vietnamese word for Australia. Everyone smiles at each other, the coffee is relaxation, not something to be carried away i a paper cup and thrown down the throat regardless of taste while you run for the bus or negotiate the freeway.
The west has a lot to learn from the Vietnamese enjoyment of coffee.
We have allowed convenience to override our need for time to relax and enjoy one of lifes pleasures.
A nondescript espresso or latte, gulped down on the way to do something else, is not a coffee break
;D
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