Vietnamese coffee,

[mikeI]

I just got back from Vietnam.

Love the coffee culture there, totally unique to asia. I was extremely shocked and impressed at their love and devotion for coffee. Which is not to typical in my other Asian Travels.

Being a coffee addict, I fell in love with their unique coffee culture.

I would like to know where in Vancouver one can buy authentic vietnamese coffee, and the condensed milk that they use. I know our canned milk is similiar, but theirs seems to be extremely thick and sweet.

Also, where can i go for a good Vietnamese coffee, I have had one at Phen Non Penn. ( excuse spelling). But where else in Vancouver and a good one be found, (maybe possibly to go with a good bowl of Pho)

Tks Mike I.

[merlin]

mikeI:

Here in Edmonton I bought the drip coffee makers, a yellow can of Cafe de Monde and the condensed milk at T&T so I am sure you can find it there in Vancouver.

I know there is another brand of coffee and particular condensed milk that others favour that might also be there.

I will have to leave the recommendations of where to drink it in Van to the "locals"

[fmed]

You can everything at T&T. Cafe du Monde in the yellow can is probably the most commonly used coffee and Longevity brand condensed milk is the most commonly used milk.

East Vancouver has many good Vietnamese spots (centered along Kingsway with a number on Hastings and Main St). Drive east along Kingsway and you will find scores of Pho, and Ca Phe places (and Vietnamese grocery stores). Main St also has a couple of good spots for Pho and Vietnamese coffee (Au Petit Cafe is a popular recommendation).

[Beebs]

I found the drip coffee contraptions in a Calgary T & T, but you can get that here too, if you haven't gotten one already.

[BonVivant]

i love it too. anyone knows where i can get Trung Nguyen ground coffee in YVR? do the Viet grocers stock it? i hope. until recently the usual Viet grocer where i am stops stocking it. grrr....

[Katie Meadow]

The drip contraptions or press-cups are obtainable on line--I know because a friend ordered me a couple as a gift. They came with instructions, but I found better instructions on line. I like a little more coffee for the amt of condensed milk than is typical I think.

I have experimented with various coffees and find that, as with most things coffee, the best is usually whatever you favor ordinarily, freshly ground. A french roast is a good bet. Cafe du Monde has a nice web site, and I'm sure you can order the coffee that way. I simply use my regular favorite coffee and add some chicory--which is what Cafe du Monde is: french roast coffee with chicory. Chicory can be bought ground (it's the root, not the leaf) and I like to add it to the coffee when it is about half-way ground, then grind it a bit more.

I have used several different condensed milks. Longevity Brand has a very cool looking can with a picture of a wise old sage doing something mysterious, and, at least in my neck of the woods it is a little cheaper. In fact, it is made in Holland and distributed by Sun Hing in So San Francisco. Truthfully I don't notice a big difference. They are all sweet enough to send you into orbit. Yum!

[sanrensho]

There is a large Vietnamese market on Victoria, just one block south of Kingsway. I think it's called 88 Supermarket. You can't miss it, it's on the west side of Victoria. They usually have Trung Nguyen and several versions of the coffee filters.

Incidentally, I've tried various other Vietnamese coffee brands as well as Cafe du Monde and I strongly prefer Trung Nguyen.

Trung Nguyen does have a distinctive taste/aroma with cocoa/butter notes from using flavorings. Since coffee is a matter of personal taste, you may or may not like this.

[Katie Meadow]

Okay, I'm curious... when I was gung-ho about making my own Viet coffee last summer I think I tried to get some Trung Nguyen, but couldn't find it in the bean, only pre-ground. Is it available in whole beans? I think I gave up the search quickly once I became fascinated with the chicory thing. I was adding it to all my coffee, Viet or not.

[sanrensho]

Okay, I'm curious... when I was gung-ho about making my own Viet coffee last summer I think I tried to get some Trung Nguyen, but couldn't find it in the bean, only pre-ground. Is it available in whole beans? I think I gave up the search quickly once I became fascinated with the chicory thing. I was adding it to all my coffee, Viet or not.

←

I've never seen it sold in whole bean here in Vancouver.

They did change the export packaging a few years ago, from bagged ground (two to a carton) to cans like the Cafe du Monde. At least, that is what we are getting locally.

The Trung Nguyen has always been a very coarse grind, coarser than even typical for French press, which actually works perfectly with the drip pots. I would need a very good quality to grinder to get the same consistent coarse grind without dust.

Some may find the Trung Nguyen to be an acquired taste, due to the flavorings. But it's the flavor I most associate with Vietnamese coffee and certainly the biggest coffee brand in Vietnam AFAIK.

[sanrensho]

I just found this Canadian importer for Trung Nguyen, with fairly reasonable prices. Shipping was about $9 for $15 worth of coffee, but they also have free shipping specials for 8 packs of coffee.

http://www.handocoffee.com/

The site features many TN blends that I have never seen in local stores, so I'm very tempted to pull the trigger on an order.

US site is here:

http://www.trung-nguyen-online.com/index.html

[Vancouver]

A wonderful Vietnamese roaster is Triumph Cafe in Austin, Texas. They will ship if you ask: http://www.triumphcafe.com/

[grayelf]

Great thread!

I am sitting here with a box of Trung Nguyen purchased last year in one of the mid-sized Vietnamese grocers along Kingsway (between Fraser and Knight). It was $4.89 for the 2x250g bags as described above. The ingredients listed are: Arabica, Robusta, Cherry and Catimor. I love the chocolatey flavour noted by sanresho and find this brand to be extremely smooth. Also, oddly but goodly, I never seem to get the "rattlies" from TN, though it is high test full on caffeinated.

We only buy Longevity, because it is cheaper, thicker and has a higher ratio of cool-sage-dude on the label than the Safeway brands :-). It is also easy to get in Kits, as they sell it at New Apple (Bway and McDonald) for $2.69 (300 mL tin).

We got the little coffee drip dealy as a present but know that it was purchased at one of the stores on Kingsway as that is how I found out where to get the TN coffee. I believe it was under $5.

[sanrensho]

I am sitting here with a box of Trung Nguyen purchased last year in one of the mid-sized Vietnamese grocers along Kingsway (between Fraser and Knight). It was $4.89 for the 2x250g bags as described above. The ingredients listed are: Arabica, Robusta, Cherry and Catimor. I love the chocolatey flavour noted by sanresho and find this brand to be extremely smooth.

I remember when my grocer used to carry the TN cartons with 2x250g bags. As you say, the ingredients listed only the bean varieties. When they switched to the cans, TN started to list the full ingredients, and that's when I noticed that it contains butter and cocoa flavor. I had always heard rumours that TN was roasted w/butter, so the mystery was finally solved.

In that respect, I guess you could call Trung Nguyen a flavoured coffee, but I don't mind.

[mikeI]

Thanks a lot for all the great feed back, extremely grateful for the info, will be heading to Kingsway area tomorrow.

Definitely going to try both brands of coffee and I did happen to bring back some coffee from Highlands Coffee, which is like Starbucks in Vietnam. ( for a comparison)

I never knew Vietnam was a world player in the coffee mkt. Number 2 producer in the world behind Brazil. Vietnam is not the first place most people associate coffee with.

Learn something new every day.

Also have to say, In Hanoi I tasted some of the best baguettes in my life there.

mikei

[BonVivant]

thanks for the shop addresses, guys. i'll be in town in mid april and if you can't find any Trung Nguyen in those Viet supermarkets that means i've cleared the shelf.

MikeI, VN and coffee culture... they have the French to thank for that.

according to Trung Nguyen site there's also 'espresso' coffee. i'm afraid it might destroy my beloved Gaggia Classic espresso machine...

the night before i left Hanoi the guesthouse owner took me and my companion on the back of her Honda to some dark alley to buy coffee beans. i remember the sittingroom has several huge woks in which the woman roasts different sorts of beans. i bought 3 different flavours 2 kg each, to take home. it was dirt dirt cheap and so good! better than Trung Nguyen for sure.

[barrett]

Catimor is actually a varietal of arabica - along with SL-795, Bourbon, Typica and countless others.

Mark Prince wrote a great piece on the emergence of Vietnam as a coffee producing nation. Written in 2002 it can be found here.