Cà Phê Cốt Dừa

Cà phê cốt dừa is one of the newer stars of Vietnamese café culture. Coconut cream (or coconut milk), sweetened condensed milk and ice are blended into a thick, frosty slush, which is spooned into a glass together with strong, dark coffee brewed in a phin. The coffee may go in first, be poured over the top, or be stirred through.

It tastes like a cross between an iced coffee and a coconut sorbet: sweet and creamy, with the bitterness of Robusta keeping it from being cloying. Many cafés finish it with toasted coconut flakes, and it usually comes with a long spoon, as you eat as much as you drink.

The drink is closely associated with Hanoi, where the café chain Cộng Cà Phê is credited with making it famous, and it has since spread to Hội An, Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnamese cafés abroad. It’s a favourite on hot days, but be aware that quality varies – the best versions use real coconut cream rather than powder.

Coconut coffee is a recent addition to Vietnam’s coffee repertoire. Its exact origin is unclear: some sources point to the northern port city of Hải Phòng, while others credit Hanoi, where it took off.

Most accounts agree that the Hanoi café chain Cộng Cà Phê, founded in 2007 with a retro design inspired by Vietnam’s post-war era, did most to popularise it. The drink gained real momentum in the 2010s as Cộng opened branches across the country, and other cafés followed with their own versions.

Today cà phê cốt dừa is on menus throughout Vietnam and in Vietnamese cafés around the world, and it has inspired ready-to-drink coconut coffees sold abroad.