Guide · Vietnamese phin coffee

Vietnamese phin coffee

Vietnamese coffee is usually dark-roast robusta brewed one cup at a time in a phin, a small metal drip filter that sits on the glass: published recipes use 10–14 g of coffee and 84–120 g of just-off-boil water, which drips through in about 5 minutes (up to 15 in one recipe). For cà phê sữa đá the brew is stirred into about 18–39 g of sweetened condensed milk and poured over ice.

Updated 2026-11-12 · sources listed at the end · values marked ≈ are our arithmetic from the sources’ figures · no product recommendations

How the phin works

A phin is a single-serving metal filter; Wikipedia’s article on Vietnamese coffee production notes it is often brought to the table while the coffee is still dripping. There is no paper: water passes through the bed of grounds and out through a perforated metal base, so the coffee oils stay in the cup (CoffeeGeek), as with other metal filters. A press plate sits on the grounds and slows the flow. CoffeeGeek describes two kinds: a gravity screen that “rests on the coffee bed by its own weight,” and a screw-down screen that you tighten until you feel the coffee, then back off one full turn.

Phin recipe chart: four published recipes

There is no official phin recipe. These four were published with measurements; ratios are our arithmetic, coffee in to water in. The three that give total water land at 1:7.7–1:8.6, about twice as strong as filter coffee at 1:15–1:18, which matches Andrea Nguyen’s rule of thumb of “about twice as much” coffee as for a regular cup.

Step by step

1. Weigh 10–14 g of coffee on a scale.
2. Heat water to just off the boil: 96 °C or 205 °F in three recipes, boiling in Sunset’s. See water temperature.
3. Prepare the glass. For cà phê sữa đá, put the condensed milk in first (Wikipedia, Saveur). Set the filter plate and chamber on top.
4. Add the coffee and level it with a light shake, then set the press plate on the grounds.
5. Bloom: pour a small first dose (18–30 g, or about 2 tbsp) and wait 20–60 seconds.
6. Fill and cover: add the rest of the water, put the lid on and let it drip.
7. Stir and serve: stir the coffee into the milk; for the iced version, pour it into a glass full of ice (Wikipedia, Saveur).

Where sources differ

• Grind. “Like table salt,” coarser than for a moka pot but finer than for pour-over (CoffeeGeek); “fine, like sand,” a touch coarser than the pour-over setting (Food52); medium-fine (Saveur); coarse (Sunset). Start from the grind size chart and let drip time decide.
• Drip time. About 5 minutes in three recipes; Food52’s brew finishes 10–15 minutes later. Andrea Nguyen gives no time: it “depends on how much coffee you put in and how tightly you screwed on the filter screen.”
• Press tension. CoffeeGeek tightens and backs off one turn; Andrea Nguyen screws it snug for the first water and then unscrews it slightly “to release pressure.”
• Beans. Wikipedia and Food52 tie the drink to robusta; CoffeeGeek calls dark-roast robusta traditional and medium-roast arabica or blends a modern option; Saveur suggests a medium roast; Sunset’s recipe names a French roast. CoffeeGeek says chicory is not part of authentic Vietnamese coffee; Andrea Nguyen lists dark French roast or coffee with chicory as stand-ins.

Cà phê sữa đá: condensed milk in grams

Wikipedia’s account of the drink: sweetened condensed milk, shelf-stable and imported, replaced fresh milk, which was scarce and spoiled quickly in the heat; the drink is believed to be an adaptation of café au lait from the French colonial period. In the south it is cà phê sữa đá (“iced milk coffee”), in the north cà phê nâu đá (“iced brown coffee”). To compare the recipes by weight we used USDA FoodData Central’s 38.2 g per fluid ounce and 54.4 g of total sugars per 100 g.

Saveur’s own tablespoon weighs 18 g; at USDA’s density a 15 ml tablespoon would be closer to 19 g, so treat these as ±1 g. Weighing the milk into the glass removes the guesswork. Andrea Nguyen advises against low-fat condensed milk.

Robusta and arabica in Vietnam

Coffee is believed to have arrived in Vietnam with French missionaries in 1857, and the first plantations date from 1888 (Wikipedia). Today the crop is almost all robusta:

The world share depends on who counts: ≈42.5% in the ICO’s 2024/25 table, ≈44% of USDA’s 2026/27 forecast (our arithmetic), and 25% rising to 40% since the early 1990s according to World Coffee Research, which names Vietnam first among the six countries growing 95% of the world’s robusta. Wikipedia describes robusta as lower in acidity, more bitter and woodier than arabica. More on the two species: coffee varieties; when Vietnam’s crop is picked: harvest calendar.

Caffeine note

Robusta beans contain more caffeine than arabica: 2.7% versus 1.5% in the figures Wikipedia cites; CoffeeGeek says “roughly double.” We found no lab measurement of a phin cup, so we give no milligram figure; the cup’s caffeine also depends on dose and extraction (see caffeine by brew method). The FDA cites 400 mg a day as an amount not generally linked to negative effects for most adults, and advises people who are pregnant, trying to become pregnant or breastfeeding to check with their health care provider. This is a summary, not medical advice.

Phin checklist

• Drips too fast, thin cup? Grind finer or add coffee (Sunset).
• Stalls or drips past 5 minutes? Grind coarser or loosen the press (Sunset, Andrea Nguyen).
• Stay within the chamber: about 15 g at most in CoffeeGeek’s phin.
• Weigh the condensed milk: 18–39 g across the recipes above.

Lab tip: drip time is your dial. Write down dose, grind setting and the minute the last drop falls in the brew log, and change one thing at a time.