Vietnamese Egg Coffee – Caffeine Just Got Eggetarianized!

Coffee has always been a primal drink with a few basic ingredients. I’ve heard of liquor twirling around the belly of the pot, vanilla, and even a swirl of spices. But eggs? No sireee!

But the world is now finally waking up like a bullet to this eggetarian coffee delight, fresh from the cafes of Vietnam! – The Vietnamese Egg Coffee! Or cà phê trúng as its known natively.

This rich brew of robust coffee topped with the whipped foam of egg yolk was once the product of milk shortage in the 1940s in Vietnam. The egg coffee was born in the kitchens of the Giang Café, a nowadays highly popular café on the Nguyen Huu street in Old Quarter in the coffee-crazy capital city, Hanoi. The owner has inherited this secret recipe which he smiles and says is a concoction of cheese, butter, chicken egg yolk, condensed milk and Vietnamese coffee powder.

So what does Vietnamese egg coffee taste like?

… Like egg? Most of us wouldn’t like the smell and raw taste of egg yolk mingling with our caffeine with us every time. Bearing the properties of egg in mind, this beverage has touches of toasted cheese, some vanilla, maybe coffee mousse – But definitely not egg!

The Vietnamese egg coffee can be sipped hot and pipping in a cup resting inside a saucer of hot water. Or you can also treat it as iced dessert when chilled.

Why egg?

They say a melt of egg gives coffee the smoothness and volume similar to milk. With the right mix, its neither too rich nor too light!

Egg coffee around the world

Its not just the Vietnamese egg coffee that’s been grazing cups around the world. Scandanavian countries have had a long history of clunking egg foam into their brews! Norway, Sweden and even Cuba and Sri Lanka have their own versions of this delight. Sri Lanka serves it light without milk.

Egg coffee is more popular in Northern Vietnam than in the South. Its prepared with a special filter system known as ‘Phin.’ Try for yourself and see if you can get around to liking this egg and caffeine melt:

Vietnamese egg coffee recipe:

For 1 cup of coffee, you’ll need:

• 4 tbspns of Robusta coffee (Vietnamese coffee powder)
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ cup of boiling water
• 4 tbspns of sweetened condensed milk

Brew it like this:

1. Use the Phin coffee filter and brew your coffee.
2. Whip the egg yolk along with the condensed milk until its white, light and fluffy.
3. Gently slur down the frothy mixture onto the coffee and let stand.

Its as simple as that!

The Weasel Coffee of Vietnam – Ca Phe Cut Chon

Vietnam is also famous for one of the world’s most expensive coffees – the weasel coffee. Or the ca phe cut chon. This is coffee made out of the excreted remains of robusta coffee cherries of a civet cat.

These furry animals are caught and fed the beans, and their dung dried and searched for these flavourful remains. The enzymes in the animal’s digestive tract ferments the beans and removes its harsh flavours. Its said that these roasts give a unique mellow flavor to the drink.

The weasel coffee is a specialty of Café Mai in Hanoi. If egg in coffee is strange, civet droppings is completely from outter space!

Other weird food traditions around the world – out here!

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