Việt Nam•29/06/2024
North South
Northern Female
Southern Women
Southern Men
Salt coffee has become a popular drink trend on social media platforms over the past few months, so much so that even the giant Starbucks has followed suit.
A small, simple cafe in the city of Hue is widely credited with inventing the now-popular drink, made by adding sweetened condensed milk to Vietnamese coffee. The mixture is topped with salted cream and served hot or iced.
"We created Salt Coffee in 2010 when we opened the first Salt Coffee shop at 10 Nguyen Luong Bang Street," co-owners Ho Thi Thanh Huong and Tran Nguyen Huu Phong told CNN.
This combination of condensed milk, salt and black coffee creates a creamy mixture that softens the bitterness of the coffee and balances the sweetness of the condensed milk.
The name of the now famous coffee and drink says it all: coffee and salt.
 |
Salty coffee is popular in Vietnam. Photo: CNN |
"When we opened the coffee shop, we had to do something a little different to attract customers, so the salty coffee flavor will keep them coming back," the couple said.
The strategy worked. Curious locals and tourists started stopping by and liking what they were drinking.
Soon, salt coffee became known as a specialty drink representing Hue and cafes across Vietnam also began serving it.
“After the pandemic, salt coffee seems to be becoming a trend across Vietnam,” said the founders of Salt Coffee.
In Hue, salted coffee has become a daily drink like black coffee or milk coffee, so this trend has brought many changes to our business."
Today, their coffee is bottled and sold all over Vietnam, and international tourists coming to Vietnam also try this coffee, just like they tried egg coffee in Hanoi.
 |
Owner of famous salt coffee shop in Hue |
While the name may put people off, the flavors really do work. The sweet milk and cream balance out the bitterness of the coffee, while the salt enhances the sweetness—just like the pinch of salt in salted caramel makes the caramel flavor stand out more.
Even Starbucks Vietnam joined the salt coffee wave, launching its own version of salt coffee in May this year.
Vietnam, which mainly grows Robusta coffee, is the world’s second-largest coffee exporter after Brazil. Vietnam’s coffee exports reached $2.9 billion in the first five months of this year, up 43.9 percent from the same period last year, according to the International Trade Council.
It's no surprise that salt coffee has become ubiquitous in Hue cafes and a popular menu choice across Vietnam today.
First introduced by French colonists in the 1850s, coffee is now hugely popular across the country. Coffee shops range from small sidewalk stands with plastic stools to sleek, modern cafes with on-site roasters.
Salt coffee is just one of the specialty Vietnamese coffees that may surprise those who have not tried them.
Perhaps the most famous of these is egg coffee. Invented in Hanoi, this dessert-like recipe adds a topping of egg yolks and condensed milk foam to the coffee base. And then there’s coconut coffee, smoothie coffee, yogurt coffee…
 |
Sidewalk Coffee Style in Vietnam |
According to a report by global market research agency Mintel released in 2023, consumers outside Asia are increasingly interested in these new coffee experiences and flavors. About 71% of Gen Z consumers interviewed by Mintel in the US said they were interested in trying Asian-inspired coffee drinks like Vietnamese coffee.
In the US, 7 Leaves Café, a chain of Vietnamese coffee shops, has expanded to more than 40 locations across the country after opening its first cafe in California in 2011.
Meanwhile, standalone Vietnamese cafes are popping up across the US, with Phin Ca Phe in Seattle and Cà phê Roasters in Philadelphia among those offering versions of salted coffee. Across the Atlantic in London, places like Caphe House sell a variety of Vietnamese coffee drinks, including egg coffee...
Comment (0)