Salted coffee: A taste of Vietnam's booming coffee culture

Vietnam offers a vast culinary adventure, a testament to its resilience against decades of food rationing and scarcity. Even with a significant twelve-hour time difference from Ecuador, the country's vibrant food scene, especially its coffee culture, remains a compelling draw.

The author highlights several unique coffee preparations, including iced latte, iced black coffee, and coconut coffee served over condensed milk. However, the standout is the "café salado" – a shot of highly caffeinated robusta coffee, produced in large quantities in Vietnam, served over a generous amount of condensed milk, ice, and whipped cream, finished with a sprinkle of salt. This discovery is hailed as a new global favorite.

Vietnam ranks as the world's second-largest coffee producer, with projections indicating record production and domestic consumption levels by 2026. The French introduced coffee cultivation to the region, and the practice of using condensed milk stems from a lack of a robust local dairy industry, making canned condensed milk a safer, more stable option. The country boasts numerous coffee shops, rivaling the density of bakeries in some areas, and even street vendors offer quick espresso shots.

Vietnamese coffee culture is defined by three key elements: robusta beans, preparation using the local "phin" filter, and serving with condensed milk. The author predicts that these unique recipes, like the salted coffee, will spread globally, solidifying Vietnam's reputation not just as a major producer but also as a master barista.

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It is my prediction that Vietnamese coffee recipes, like the salted coffee, will spread throughout the world in the coming years, consolidating Vietnam's fame not only as a world coffee producer but also as a master barista.