Last Updated on 3 years by Tam Le Van
Before the egg coffee (Ca phe trung) was born, not much people thought that egg and coffee can be combined together and become a famed type of drink like today. Historically, Mr.Giảng is the first person who tested this ‘unusual’ combination and gained his success after tiredless efforts. Then he founded a coffee shop namely Café Giang where anyone traveling to Hanoi all want to come and admire his unique egg coffee.
Over time, many generations of Hanoian settle down in charming Hoi An and share their knowledge in making Ca phe trung to locals. As people living at a ‘cuisine capital’, Hoianese quickly learn as well as add this awesome beverage on the menu of cafeterias. In actuality, the quality between two groups of maker is good equally. Therefore, never mind. We outline places serving the best egg coffee in Hoi An in order to help you find easier as following below.
Should see also Hoi An’s local food specialties to know other delicacies in town, best places to try them and guided tours.
History of the egg coffee in Vietnam
Coffee is introduced to Vietnam by Catholic missionaries in the beginning of French occupation period. At that time, it was only served for the upper classes and if commoners wanted to try, they had to pay a lot of money for. Ingredients for making coffee also were in the shortage frequently, especially fresh milk (must be imported).
By the enthusiasm for work, Mr.Giảng did research by himself to find out the solution for this issue while being a bartender in the luxurious hotel at Hanoi. After many failures, he got success in using the egg and condensed milk to replace the fresh milk. Moreover, these are low-cost that actually give the opportunity for admiring coffee to everybody as well. The first Ca phe trung was made in 1946. Following lots of good comments, he made decision to quit job and start his own business with a small coffee shop namely Café Giảng.
Café Giảng-a must-go destination in Hanoi
Currently, there are three coffee shops gradually established by Mr.Giảng’s family members around Hanoi. Flagship shop (also the best known) lies in a narrow No.39 alley of Nguyen Huu Huan Street where quite challenged to find. Although its atmosphere is pretty bustling by tourists but cozy and brings us plenty of local vibes. The diners sit on low stools, enjoy excellent-in-quality coffee and chat with friends.
Egg coffee’s ingredients and recipe details
To make Ca phe trung, you need to prepare the coffee powder (Robusta beans origin recommended), chicken eggs, honey bee (or sugar) and condensed milk. Function of honey bee plus condensend milk is reducing the egginess of chicken eggs and add more flavour.
Brewing coffee is the first work. Traditionally, Vietnamese will use a filter set called Phin consisting of lid, filter chamber, filter press, filter spanner and one glass to do this step. The filter chamber is filled up with coffee powder and hot water once pushed down hard by a press. Coffee drips slowly into clear glass through small holes at the bottom of filter chamber then. After 4-6 minutes, remove whole set. If you have an Espresso machine at home, get the amount of coffee needed straight from.
On the next step, Ca phe trung makers beat the eggs and only keep the yolks. Then blend them with condensed milk&honey bee by mixer until become a smooth paste and slowly pour the creamy mixture on the coffee pre-prepared. That’s reason why you will see two different layers on a cup of egg coffee. When serve, people will place it in a hot water bowl to keep its warmness (this is the best time to enjoy). You are advised to use the spoon to scoop both layers instead of taking only delicious egg-made part above to admire fully the wonderful taste of Ca phe trung.
What makes a good egg coffee?
No matter which type of java, the quality of coffee beans used always is one of the most important elements and Ca phe trung (egg coffee) is not an exception. In common, Vietnamese uses dark-roasted coffee beans (Robusta variety in particular) sourced from provinces in the Central Highland. This is the largest coffee production area of the country and more than that, numerous localities also make beans meeting world-class standards in quality such as Da Lat. Secondly, the egg cream (yolks, condensed milk&honey bee) has to be rich and smooth. Moreover, its sweetness should be not too high because likely to make the diner feel fed up right at first touches. On the other side, if amount of sugar-contained things sufficiently added, you may believe that your egg coffee will be balanced and easier to admire.
Not only proper usage of ingredients, timming also is another deciding factor for the quality of egg cofee. The best time to enjoy is while it gets still warm.
Places serving the best egg coffee in Hoi An
Phin Coffee-the best quality coffee for Ca phe trung
| Address: 132/7 Tran Phu street | Opening time: 8 a.m to 5 p.m |
| Price: 50.000 VND (around 2.2 USD) |
Phin Coffee locates at the end of a tranquil alleyway that perfect to escape from hustle and bustle of streets within the Old town. More than that, its interior space is also filled by lush trees and little cute succulents making it become a real green oasis.
Every type of java here is made by beans produced in Da Lat where boasts of the highest quality coffee in the country and roasted carefully in house. This premium source of ingredient together with skills of experienced barista enable to create excellent Ca phe trung. As a result, there is no wonder that Phin Coffee is one of shops serving the best egg coffee in Hoi An.
In order to serve an out-of-the-common egg coffee, the shop replaces condensed milk/honey bee by coconut syrup which brings diners the new taste and goodness for health. In addition to, its founders arrange an workshop to share knowledge plus experiences about the coffee into the bargain. Browse https://www.airbnb.co.uk/experiences/500907?_set_bev_on_new_domain=1599313706_LTYbDE0p8zsoGLj8 for futher details.
Hoi An Roastery-the largest coffee chain in Hoi An
| Address: 135 Tran Phu street | Opening time: 7:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m |
| Price: 59.000 VND (around 2.6 USD) |
Hoi An Roastery is a coffee chain founded in 2015 and currently owning seven separate shops sited at the most convenient positions all over the Old town. Meaning that you have no worry about exact location of the shops because they are always near you. So feel free to wander around lantern-lit streets, have fun with shopping and then come to any shop of this for enjoying its awesome coffee. Besides an extensive network, each place also serves us the comfortable and atmospheric indoor space, professional service and wide list of drinks.
As same as Phin Coffee, Hoi An Roastery lies on the list of cafeterias offering the best egg coffee in Hoi An because of its great care for products from selecting coffee beans, roasting process until barita skills. Most specially, the chain uses high-quality coffee beans originating from Central Highland-the largest coffee cultivation area of the country.
Passion Fruit Coffee-a hidden gem for who likes egg coffee
| Address: 9 Hoang Van Thu street | Opening time: 9:30 a.m to 8 p.m |
| Price: 40.000 VND (around 1.7 USD) |
Situated on a road decorated by red rangoon creepers and famous for street foods, Passion Fruit Coffee is the ideal refreshing spot for your day out within the Old town. When put foot in, you will dive into the traditionally-designed space with nice music&friendly service and of course have the chance to enjoy various types of drink including the best egg coffee in Hoi An.
In comparison to other places mentioned in this article, Passion Fruit Coffee is less-known on social medias but not a stranger for ‘offline’ coffee lovers. Additionally, it also brings relaxing times during the day when you are able to stay away from tourists crowd.
Blue Lotus Coffee Shop-authentic Northern Vietnam egg coffee
| Address: 98 Hung Vuong street | Opening time: 9 a.m to 9 p.m |
| Price: 40.000 VND (around 1.7 USD) |
Established by young persons who grew up in Northern Vietnam and settling down now at Hoi An, Blue Lotus Coffee Shop provides the most authentic Ca phe trung that give us the chance to know and feel the orginal taste of egg coffee if never been Hanoi before. It is a sister business with Blue Lotus Leather Workshop in which you learn about Vietnamese long-standing techniques under instruction of experienced artisan as well as create a leather piece by yourself.
Like many drinks on its menu, there are no new ingredients as well as modern techniques used during whole making process of Ca phe trung here. In other words, black coffee brewed naturally by traditional Phin filter set and all steps done by hands. Therefore, this cafeteria becomes a well-liked spot for either expats together with residents. Blue Lotus Coffee gets standing as one of places serving the best egg coffee in Hoi An.
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