Vietnamese French Coffee

Vietnamese French Coffee - whoa, right? That's a lot of culture into one cup. In the 18th and even 17th century, France missionaries came to Viet Nam to spread Catholicism. As time passed, spreading a religion eventually became creating a French colony which became the French occupying Viet Nam. However, during their stay, they created a lot of beautiful architecture which are still found and admired in Viet Nam. They also influenced a lot of Vietnamese food that are considered Vietnamese staples today - such as the baguettes, the pastries and oh my, Vietnamese coffee.

Dark, nutty and sweet, it is one of the most unique sweet coffees you will ever taste. You'll drink it and wonder why the Vietnamese people here are all skinny and not overweight and diagnosed as diabetes. In Viet Nam, the sweetness is almost unbearable for me. As you can see, the ratio of sweetened condense milk to coffee strongly favors the milk. My own favorite ratio is a much darker, bold taste:

Vietnamese Coffee

Ingredients
Grounded, dark roasted coffee beans
Sweetened condense milk


Instructions

1. Put 1 tablespoon of sweetened condense milk into your cup.
   
2. Make your coffee in the Vietnamese single serve drip brewer (as pictured above) with the cup of condense milk. The brewers are sold for about $3 apiece.
   
3. Put in one teaspoon of coffee and a teaspoon of boiled water and press. This will serve as a barrier so your coffee grinds don't end up in your cup. Then, uncover and add 2 tablespoons of coffee with half a cup of boiling water. With this strong of a brew, I usually don't need more than half a cup. Wait for about 7 minutes for the coffee to stop its dripping.
   Alternatively, you can make your coffee using a Bodum french coffee press or any other brand of your choice.
   
4. Stir until it blends into a nice brown shade and then pour it into a cup of ice - although I prefer to drink it hot. 

Drink and enjoy the most decadent drink you'll have all day!