Egg coffee (cà phê trứng): the story, how to drink it, and a recipe

Cà phê trứng is strong Vietnamese coffee under a thick cap of egg yolk whisked with sweetened condensed milk. It tastes less like egg and more like warm tiramisu. Hà Nội drinks it in small cafés up narrow staircases, and now so does half the internet.

The story

The story most people in Hà Nội tell: in 1946 fresh milk was hard to find, and a bartender named Nguyễn Văn Giảng whisked egg yolk into his coffee instead. His family still serves it at Café Giảng. Whether every detail is true or not, the drink stuck.

How to drink it

• It usually arrives in a small cup standing in a bowl of hot water, to keep it warm. Leave it there.
• Eat the foam with the little spoon first, or stir everything together. Both are right.
• There is an iced version, cà phê trứng đá, for hot afternoons.
• While you are there, try the cousins: cà phê muối (salt coffee, from Huế) and cà phê cốt dừa (coconut coffee).

Make one at home

For one cup you need:

• 1 very fresh egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• 20 g ground coffee, ideally Vietnamese Robusta or a dark roast
• A phin filter (or any strong coffee you can make)

1. Brew. Put the coffee in the phin over a small cup, add a splash of hot water and wait 30 seconds, then fill it up. Let it drip, about 4–5 minutes.
2. Whisk. Beat the yolk, condensed milk and sugar until pale, thick and holding a ribbon: about 3–5 minutes by hand, 1–2 with a milk frother.
3. Keep it warm. Stand the cup of coffee in a bowl of hot water.
4. Top. Spoon the foam over the coffee and drink it while it is warm.

The yolk is raw: use pasteurised eggs if you are pregnant or cooking for someone with a weak immune system.

Learn it in Hà Nội

In our Egg Coffee & Phin Workshop you whisk your own above the street, learn to brew with a phin, and take one home.