Foodie Newbie: January 2010

I'm not much of a coffee person, never have been...but never will?? When I go to Starbucks I usually get a non coffee item, whether it be Shaken Black Tea Lemonade or a Hot Caramel Apple Cider. There's just something about coffee that usually turns my mouth to go..."bleh!" But the first time I tried Vietnamese Coffee, all bias aside, I actually had a nirvana moment.

I tried, on a whim, to make this delicious cold Vietnamese treat before but failed miserably. The coffee melted the ice and as a result I got a dark, watery mess. Months later my Vietnamese coffee craving came calling me again. This time I decided to approach this more wisely and judiciously. I did my research on various food blog sites and found a post written by wanderingchopsticks that was really good. I actually followed her recipe for the most part and it turn out spectaclar! The only thing I added at the end was some half and half for some extra creaminess (idea courtesy of Nhat).

Vietnamese Coffee: Cafe Sua Da
2 Tbs Sweet Condensed Milk
2 Tbs Coarsely Ground Coffee (I use Trung Nguyen Coffee)
Half and Half (as much or little as you want) maybe about 1-2 Tbs
Hot boiling water
Vietnamese Coffe Filter

Put 2 Tbs (and a little more if u like) of condensed milk in a cup that fits the coffee filter over the rim.
Put 2 Tbs of coffee grounds in the filter and pack down either with the screw top or the packing top. I happen to have the packing top which works fine. For me, the more tightly packed the coffee the better so that the coffee drips SLOWLY.

Fill the filter with hot water and let drip . WARNING. It will drip very slowly at first. You will think nothing is dripping. Don't mess with the top, just be patient. The drips will come. BELIEVE ME. Then after all the water has been filtered through, if you want fill again with hot water to get a little more. I usually fill a second time only about half way. In the mean time while the coffee is dripping fill a glass to the brim with ice and put in freezer so it will become cold. After all your coffe has dripped, remove the filter and stirr to mix the coffee and condense milk.