vietnameseiced.coffee

Brewing

How to Make Vietnamese Coffee Without a Phin

You don’t need a phin, the Vietnamese drip filter, to make cà phê sữa đá (iced coffee with condensed milk). An espresso machine, an AeroPress, a Moka pot or even a French press can make it at home. Choose the one you have and follow its steps.

Updated 18 October 2026

A glass of iced coffee with a pale layer of condensed milk settled at the bottom, on a wooden tray beside a glass of water and a dish of ground coffee.
Cà phê sữa đá, with the condensed milk still under the coffee.Photo: ePi.Longo · CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The short answer

Brew a small amount of strong coffee with whatever you have, pour it onto about 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk, stir, and pour it over ice. A double espresso or AeroPress’s espresso-style recipe gives a small, strong base. A Moka pot or a French press works with a little less ice. With no brewer at all, dissolve plain instant coffee in 60 ml of hot water.

What coffee maker do you have?

Pick what you have at home. No special Vietnamese equipment needed.

What you’ll need

Vietnamese iced coffee is strong coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk, then served over ice. The coffee needs enough flavour to stand up to the milk.

  • Strong coffee. How much depends on the brewer: a double espresso gives about 40 g, a small Moka pot about 130 ml. Each method below gives its own amount.
  • Sweetened condensed milk. About 2 tablespoons (30 ml) a glass, more or less to taste.
  • Ice. Enough to fill a tall glass.

Whatever the brewer, the drink goes together the same way: condensed milk in a heatproof glass, hot coffee on top, stir until the colour is even, then pour it over ice. The full cà phê sữa đá recipe has the traditional phin version.

AeroPress

AeroPress publishes an espresso-style recipe that makes a small, concentrated brew, which is what condensed milk needs.

You’ll need

  • 18–22 gcoffee, ground fine but not as fine as espresso
  • 75–80 gwater at 86–95 °C, to the top of the “1” on the chamber
  • 2 tbspsweetened condensed milk
  • A glassfull of ice
Equipment
AeroPress with its stainless steel filter in the Flow Control cap, as the recipe specifies; a sturdy mug
Brewing
30 seconds, then a slow press
An AeroPress standing on a white mug on a wooden table, the chamber holding dark coffee with its numbered markings visible.
An AeroPress sits on the mug and is pressed by hand.Photo: Bex Walton · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Steps

  1. Set up. Fit the steel filter into the Flow Control cap, attach it to the chamber and stand the AeroPress on a sturdy mug. Add the coffee and shake it level.

  2. Brew. Pour in the water, stir well and leave it for 30 seconds.

  3. Press. Press down slowly and smoothly. When you hear a hiss, press through to the bottom.

  4. Mix and serve. Stir the hot coffee into the condensed milk until the colour is even, then pour it over the ice.

Tip No Flow Control cap or steel filter? The standard cap and a paper filter take the same coffee and water. That is our adaptation rather than AeroPress’s recipe, and paper holds back more of the coffee’s oils, so expect a lighter body.

Choose a different coffee maker

Espresso machine

A double espresso is the quickest strong base, if you already have the machine.

You’ll need

  • ≈ 20 gground coffee, as for any double shot
  • ≈ 40 gespresso out, the usual 1:2
  • 2 tbspsweetened condensed milk
  • A glassfull of ice
Equipment
Espresso machine with a double basket; a heatproof glass
Brewing
20–30 seconds
Two thin streams of espresso running from a machine into a white cup, the coffee in it topped with orange-brown crema.
Espresso running from the machine into the cup.Photo: Osman Bas · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Steps

  1. Milk first. Spoon the condensed milk into a heatproof glass.

  2. Pull the shot. Make a double espresso the way you normally would, straight onto the milk or into a cup.

  3. Stir. Stir until the coffee and milk are one even colour.

  4. Serve. Pour it over the ice.

Tip Adjust the condensed milk to taste. A darker roast gives a bolder glass, but the beans already in your grinder will work. Expect it to taste different from phin coffee, because the two extract the coffee in very different ways.

Choose a different coffee maker

The 20 g in, 40 g out recipe is a common example, not a requirement. Cafés routinely use 15–22 g of coffee for 30–60 g of espresso, and whatever your machine is set up for will do.

Moka pot

A Moka pot makes strong stovetop coffee, and a small one makes enough for one or two glasses.

You’ll need

  • ≈ 15 gcoffee, ground medium, coarser than for espresso: enough to fill the basket
  • ≈ 150 mlroom-temperature water, up to the safety valve
  • 2 tbspsweetened condensed milk for each glass
  • A glassfull of ice for each glass
Equipment
3-cup Moka pot. Other sizes work the same way; the pot sets the amounts
Brewing
Low heat, until the coffee has finished rising
A two-spout stovetop pot on a burner, coffee running from curved spouts into a small glass and a white cup.
A two-spout stovetop pot brewing straight into the cups.Photo: Vee Satayamas · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Steps

  1. Water. Fill the bottom chamber up to the safety valve, never above it.

  2. Coffee. Fill the basket to the rim and level it off. Do not press it down.

  3. Brew. Screw the pot together and put it on low heat. When the coffee has finished rising into the top, turn the heat off. The metal is very hot, so hold it by the handle.

  4. Mix and serve. A 3-cup pot makes about 130 ml. Use about half for one glass, or all of it for a large glass or two small ones. Stir it into the condensed milk, then pour it over ice.

Tip A Moka pot puts about twice as much water through each gram of coffee as a phin, so its coffee is usually milder. Start with less ice than you think you need, and add more once you have tasted it.

Choose a different coffee maker

French press

A French press works if you brew at the strong end of its usual range: 1:10, coffee to water.

You’ll need

  • 20 gcoffee, ground coarse
  • 200 mlwater at about 93 °C
  • 2 tbspsweetened condensed milk
  • A glassfull of ice
Equipment
French press; a heatproof glass
Brewing
4 minutes
A small glass and steel French press of black coffee beside two glass cups of coffee and a tall glass holding a leafy sprig, on a pale counter.
A small French press, with two cups poured.Photo: Yongbin · CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Steps

  1. Coffee. Put the coffee in the press. In a large press, double the coffee and the water and make two glasses, so the grounds sit deep enough to steep evenly.

  2. Water. Pour in the hot water and check that all the grounds are wet.

  3. Steep. Put the lid on and wait 4 minutes.

  4. Press and pour. Push the plunger down gently and pour all the coffee out straight away. Left in the press, it keeps brewing and turns bitter. Stir it into the condensed milk and pour it over ice.

Tip Pour slowly and leave the last spoonful in the press. The mesh lets fine grounds through, and they settle at the bottom.

Choose a different coffee maker

Instant coffee

No coffee maker at all? Plain instant coffee, dissolved in a little hot water, makes a quick Vietnamese-style iced coffee.

You’ll need

  • 2 gplain instant coffee: one small black sachet, or your jar’s amount for one cup
  • 60 mlhot water
  • 2 tbspsweetened condensed milk
  • A glassfull of ice
Equipment
A heatproof glass and a spoon
Brewing
None

Steps

  1. Dissolve. Stir the instant coffee into the hot water until it has dissolved.

  2. Add the milk. Stir in the condensed milk.

  3. Serve. Pour it over the ice and stir again.

  4. Taste. Brands differ in strength. If the milk drowns the coffee, use more instant next time, not more water.

Tip Use plain instant, not a 3-in-1 sachet. A 3-in-1 already contains sugar and creamer, so condensed milk on top makes it very sweet. If a 3-in-1 is all you have, leave out the condensed milk and use a little less water than the packet says.

Choose a different coffee maker

The 2 g in 60 ml is what Trung Nguyên prints for one sachet of its black G7. Instant is also ordinary in Vietnam: the USDA estimates about a third of the coffee drunk there is instant. What is in a Vietnamese instant sachet covers the formats.

Other ways to make it

Cold brew

Cold brew suits anyone who wants glasses ready in the fridge. Steep coarse ground coffee in cold water at 1:4 to 1:5, for example 50 g of coffee to 250 ml of water, for about 12 hours, then strain it.

For a glass, stir about 60 ml of the concentrate into 2 tablespoons of condensed milk, then add ice. Condensed milk dissolves slowly in cold coffee, so stir until there are no streaks before the ice goes in. The starting ratio is close to a phin’s, but a slow, cold extraction is a different brew, so expect a different strength and flavour. Vietnamese cold brew covers the method in full.

Pour-over or drip

Filter brewers are built for a mug of coffee. The Specialty Coffee Association’s standard for home brewers is about 1:18, more than three times the water a phin uses for each gram of coffee.

Brew it as strong as your setup is designed to: with a pour-over cone, use more coffee and less water than usual; with a machine, use its strong setting if it has one, and do not overfill the basket. Then use less ice, and add condensed milk to taste.

Which method should you use?

The one you have. If you own more than one, this is how they differ.

Brewing times and amounts are each maker's or standards body's published recipe; see the sources at the end.
MethodBrewingWhat you getUse it when
AeroPress30 s steep, then a slow pressA small, concentrated brewYou want one strong glass in about two minutes
Espresso20–30 s shotAbout 40 g of strong coffeeYou already make espresso
Moka potLow heat until the coffee has risenAbout 130 ml from a 3-cup potYou want one large glass or two small ones
French press4 min steepA larger, milder brewIt is the brewer you have
InstantNone60 ml, made in a minuteYou have no brewer, or you are travelling
Cold brewAbout 12 h steepA concentrate for the fridgeYou want glasses ready in advance
Pour-over or dripYour usual brewFilter-strength coffeeNothing else is to hand

These are starting recipes, not a strength ranking. A coffee-to-water ratio describes what goes into a brewer; how strong the glass ends up also depends on the grind, the brew time and how much water stays behind in the grounds. Espresso is counted differently again. Its 1:2 compares the coffee with the drink that comes out, not with the water that went in, so it does not line up with the other ratios. None of these methods was brewed side by side for this page.

Getting the flavour right

Use bold coffee

Dark-roasted Vietnamese robusta is the traditional choice and gives the flavour most people associate with cà phê sữa đá. Other beans and lighter roasts work too; they make a different glass. How to choose Vietnamese coffee beans covers what to look for on the bag.

Adjust the sweetness

Two tablespoons (30 ml) of condensed milk is where to start. Add more for a sweeter glass, or less if you want the coffee to lead. Stir it in while the coffee is hot, when it dissolves easily.

Watch the dilution

The ice keeps melting into the drink as you drink it. If your coffee is milder than a phin’s, as Moka, French press and filter coffee usually are, use less ice or brew a little stronger. Phin coffee ratio explains how the ratio changes the glass.

Is a phin worth buying?

You don’t need one to enjoy cà phê sữa đá. If you make it often, though, a phin is the tool built for it: an inexpensive four-part metal filter that sits on the glass, needs no paper or power, and brews 20 g of coffee with 100 ml of water in four to six minutes. It is also small enough to pack for a trip.

Which phin to buy compares the types, and how to use a phin covers the method.

Questions people ask

Can I make Vietnamese coffee with a French press?

Yes. Brew it strong, 20 g of coffee to 200 ml of water for four minutes, then stir it into condensed milk and pour it over ice. Expect it to be milder than phin coffee, so go easy on the ice.

Can I use espresso instead of a phin?

Yes. A double shot is a quick, strong base: pour it onto two tablespoons of condensed milk, stir and add ice. It will not taste the same as phin coffee, because a machine extracts the coffee in seconds under pressure rather than in a slow drip.

Can I make Vietnamese coffee with instant coffee?

Yes. Dissolve plain instant in about 60 ml of hot water so it is strong enough for the milk, then add condensed milk and ice. A 3-in-1 sachet is already sweetened, so leave out the condensed milk if that is what you have.

Will it taste like phin coffee?

Not exactly. Each brewer extracts coffee differently, and the filter changes the texture: paper holds back oils that a metal filter lets through. With strong coffee, condensed milk and ice, any of them makes a recognisable cà phê sữa đá.

Sources and further reading

Each source is listed with the claim it supports. The quantities are the makers' and standards bodies' published recipes. None of these methods was brewed for this page, and nothing here comes from our own tasting.

  1. How to Make Espresso Style Coffee with an AeroPress Coffee MakerAeroPress (Ben Jones) · 2026-10-15 · accessed 2026-10-18The espresso-style recipe as written: 18–22 g of coffee ground fine but not as fine as espresso, 75–80 g of water at 86–95 °C filled to the top of the “1”, a stainless steel filter in the Flow Control Filter Cap, the device on a sturdy mug, stir, brew 30 seconds, press slowly and accelerate at the hiss; prep and brew time of a minute each. Also that AeroPress calls the result “espresso style” rather than espresso, and gives no output volume.
  2. A Complete Guide to Filters for Your AeroPressAeroPress · 2025-10-06 · accessed 2026-10-18Paper filters absorb oils and hold back fine particles; metal filters let oils and fine particles into the cup for a fuller-bodied cup.
  3. EspressoNational Coffee Association USA · 2024-08-14 · accessed 2026-10-18An espresso ratio of 1 g of dry coffee to 2 g of brewed espresso, where the 2 is the liquid that comes out, and a brewing time of 20–30 seconds.
  4. Systematically Improving Espresso: Insights from Mathematical Modeling and ExperimentMatter 2:631–648 (Cameron et al.) · 2020-03 · accessed 2026-10-18Coffee shops routinely using 15–22 g of dry coffee for 30–60 g of beverage, the range a 20 g in, 40 g out double sits in.
  5. Ground coffee for Moka should never be pressed!Bialetti · 2025-07-10 · accessed 2026-10-18The Moka method: room-temperature water not above the safety valve, the funnel filled to the edge without a mound and not pressed down, a medium grind coarser than for espresso, low heat, and turning the stove off once the coffee has fully risen.
  6. Moka Pot 3 Cup & 6 Cup Italian StovetopBialetti · accessed 2026-10-18Moka pot cups are about 2 oz espresso servings, and a 3-cup pot makes 4.4 oz, about 130 ml.
  7. Experimental investigation of steam pressure coffee extraction in a stove-top coffee maker (accepted manuscript)Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (Navarini, Nobile, Pinto, Scheri and Suggi-Liverani) · 2009 · accessed 2026-10-09A Bialetti Moka Express 3-cup used with 150 g of water and 15 g of coffee as standard, about 1:10.
  8. French Press CoffeeNational Coffee Association USA · 2025-02-06 · accessed 2026-10-18A French press ratio of 1:10 to 1:16, water at 93 ± 3 °C, a coarse grind, about four minutes of steeping, and pouring off straight away because coffee left in the press keeps brewing and turns bitter.
  9. Cà phê G7 hòa tan đen - Hộp 15 gói 2grTrung Nguyên Legend (official shop) · accessed 2026-10-18The maker's instruction for its unsweetened black instant: one 2 g sachet dissolved in 60 ml of water at 80–100 °C.
  10. Coffee Annual — Vietnam (GAIN report VM2026-0016)USDA Foreign Agricultural Service · 2026-05 · accessed 2026-09-27MY 2026/27 domestic consumption of 5,000 thousand 60 kg bags, of which 1,550 soluble: the basis for about a third of the coffee drunk in Vietnam being instant.
  11. Cold Brew CoffeeNational Coffee Association USA · 2024-12-03 · accessed 2026-10-18Cold brew at 1:4 to 1:5 with a coarse grind for about twelve hours, as a concentrate meant to be diluted or served with ice.
  12. SCA Standard 310-2021: Home Coffee Brewers (archived copy)Specialty Coffee Association · 2022 · accessed 2026-10-09A standard brew ratio of 55 g of coffee per kilogram of water, about 1:18, for home filter brewers.

Continue exploring

A glass of iced coffee with a pale layer of condensed milk still settled at the bottom, on a wooden tray beside a glass of water and a dish of ground coffee.Photo: ePi.Longo · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Recipe

Cà phê sữa đá

Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk

Hot water poured from a battered kettle into the top of a stainless phin standing on a glass mug, a glass of condensed milk waiting beside it.Photo: HungryHuy · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Brewing

How to Use a Vietnamese Phin Filter

The phin is the Vietnamese coffee filter: 20 g, 100 ml, four to six minutes. The whole method, and what to change when the drip stalls or races.

A spoonful of dark ground coffee held over the chamber of a phin on a glass mug, with a bag of grounds and a glass of condensed milk behind it.Photo: HungryHuy · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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Water poured from a glass jug into a mason jar half full of ground coffee, on a granite kitchen counter.Photo: Sage Ross · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Brewing

Vietnamese Cold Brew: Robusta at 1:5

Cold brew is not cà phê sữa đá served cold. What changes when you steep Vietnamese robusta in cold water: the ratio, the steep time, and the roast problem.

A metal phin filter sitting on the rim of a glass mug of black coffee, with its lid set down on the table in front.Photo: HungryHuy · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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Shrink-wrapped boxes of G7 instant coffee stacked on a shop shelf, red boxes labelled cà phê hòa tan on the left and an orange G7 Cappuccino box on the right.Photo: Dragfyre · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Gear

Vietnamese Instant Coffee: What's in a Sachet

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