What Is Cà Phê Sữa Đá?

My name is Lan. I live in Ho Chi Minh City. Every morning, I drink a glass of cà phê sữa đá. It is Vietnamese iced coffee with milk.

Vietnamese coffee is very strong and a little bitter. People make it with a small metal filter called a phin. The phin sits on top of a glass. Hot water goes into the phin, and the coffee drips slowly into the glass. You need to wait about five minutes.

At the bottom of the glass, there is sweet condensed milk. It is thick and yellow. When the coffee is ready, I stir the milk and the coffee together. Then I add a lot of ice. Now it is cold, sweet and delicious!

In Vietnam, coffee shops are everywhere. Some shops are big and modern. Other shops are very small. People sit on low plastic stools on the sidewalk. They talk with friends, read the news or just watch the street.

My favourite coffee shop is near my house. The owner is an old man. He is very friendly, and he always smiles. A glass of coffee costs only twenty thousand dong.

Yesterday, my friend Tom from England visited me. He tried cà phê sữa đá for the first time. He loved it! Now he wants to buy a phin and take it home.