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5 interesting facts about egg coffee

Egg coffee - Ha Noi’s special drink, is not only by local residents but also is a must-try drink for anyone who visits the capital of Viet Nam.

Egg coffee - one of the best beverages in the world

Egg coffee is a cocktail of coffee and egg yolk, which makes it special. This drink has a perfectly balanced taste: neither too sweet nor too bitter. It is definitely a “Hanoian” drink.

 In 2017, CNN Travel made a designated post called “Egg coffee in Hanoi: Where to get your caffeine fix” to show its approbation to this signature drink.

In the 11th Vietnam-France conference of decentralized cooperation in Toulouse, the French had the chance to enjoy Vietnamese egg coffee and it did make a deep impression on them. Also, in 2019, 3000 thousand cups of egg coffee were catered in the US-North Korea Summit Conference.

The origin of legendary egg coffee

In 1950, Mr Nguyễn Văn Giảng was the first to make an egg coffee. He was a bartender of Metropole Ha Noi in the French colonial era which granted him the chance to expose himself to various types of coffee. At that time, because of the shortage of fresh milk together with his great desire to create his own Vietnamese drink, Mr Giảng used eggs instead of milk and here came the first legendary egg coffee. Since then, his brand “Giảng Coffee” was famous for this unique beverage.

Egg coffee has gained its prevalence since 1990. As the economy developed, this was no longer an extravagant drink but a more affordable one. At the moment, thanks to inventions of egg blender that saved bartenders plenty of time and effort, enormous demand was met.

There are numerous versions of egg coffee all over the world. However, only in Ha Noi can you enjoy the truly unique taste of this legendary drink.

Egg coffee’s ingredients

Egg coffee is not hard to make but it requires deftness from the bartenders. The ingredients consist of eggs, coffee, sugar and sweetened condensed milk. Those eggs must be of freshness so as not to exude odour. More importantly, the quantity of egg yolks should be used wisely so that it will not eclipse the coffee’s flavour.

Bartenders will separate egg yolks and blend until there is a cake-like smell. If they overblend, the texture will no longer be dense. Also, they will add sugar and honey to egg whites and blend them. Finally, they gradually pour blended eggs into the cup. A perfect egg coffee should have 3 separate layers: the coffee layer, the blended egg yolk layer and the egg white layer on top.

Ha Noi’s culture of sipping egg coffee

In CNN’s post, they wrote “The hot version comes resting in a small dish of hot water to maintain its temperature. The strong coffee taste at the bottom of the cup seeps through the egg -- the yellow layer on top -- and is quite thick and sweet, though not sickly”.

Indeed, enjoying an egg coffee requires “special techniques”. “Hanoian” sip their coffee by using a small spoon to taste the egg white layer, then they mix them all up to have a balanced taste.

Also, in the post “Egg coffee in HN”, Mr Will Frith - a coffee expert wrote: ”As for some of the new coffee trends in Vietnam,there's a growing interest in all things natural and specialty.”

Egg coffee, which originated from Giảng Coffee, gained its prevalence all over Ha Noi. This unique drink  absolutely suits mild days. The price for an egg coffee is around 20.000-40.000 VNĐ (nearly 1$-1.5$)

TOP egg coffee shops in Ha Noi

  • Giảng Coffee: 39 Nguyen Huu Huan Street, Hoan Kiem District (definitely must-try)
  • Đinh Coffee: 13 Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Hoan Kiem District

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