Egg Coffee: The Story Behind Hanoi's Signature Drink
How Hanoi's famous egg coffee was invented, what it actually tastes like, and where to try the original.
Egg Coffee: A Hanoi Original
Ca phe trung (egg coffee) was invented in Hanoi in the 1940s, reportedly during a period when fresh milk was scarce, as a substitute for the condensed milk usually added to Vietnamese coffee. The result — a whipped mixture of egg yolk, condensed milk, and sugar, layered over strong Vietnamese coffee — has become one of the city's signature drinks, closer in texture to a light custard or dessert than a typical cup of coffee.
What It Tastes Like
The whipped egg-and-condensed-milk topping is rich, sweet, and slightly foamy, similar in texture to a soft meringue or zabaglione, sitting over strong, bitter Vietnamese drip coffee below. The two layers are meant to be mixed together as you drink, blending the sweetness of the topping with the coffee's bitterness rather than drunk separately.
Where It Started
Cafe Giang, founded in 1946, is widely credited as the birthplace of egg coffee and still operates today, run by the founder's descendants using a recipe that's remained largely unchanged. It's become something of a pilgrimage stop for coffee enthusiasts visiting Hanoi, though many other cafes across the city now serve their own versions.
Egg coffee is served hot and best drunk soon after arriving — the whipped topping loses some of its light, foamy texture as it cools, so don't let it sit too long before starting.
