This is the first episode of our Make it yourself series. Today, let’s see how to properly prepare a Vietnamese milk coffee. But first, we will tell you a few facts and unveil the mystery of this particular flavor you must have noticed if you ever had a cup of coffee on Vietnam streets.

Few facts about coffee in Vietnam

• Coffee was first brought to Vietnam by French and Dutch during the 18^th century.
   
• Vietnam is currently the world number one producer and exporter of Robusta coffee (which is widely used to make instant coffee), second only to Brazil if we include arabica.
   
• Vietnamese coffee production is highly concentrated in the central highlands (80 percent). The majority of Vietnamese coffee plantation is small and medium-sized from less than 1 to 50 hectares.
   
• Vietnam has only one Robusta crop per year, and the crop year starts from October until the end of September the year after.
   
• Harvesting is performed manually and is quite labor-intensive. The coffee harvest takes place between November and February. Farmers used to harvest coffee in a short period of time, and pick all cherries at once; this included both ripe and unripe cherries.

Why drinking coffee on the streets of Vietnam tastes that good?

Because farmers used to harvest coffee at once and over a short period of time, they were picking both ripe and unripe cherries. They had to find a way to visually hide the unripe ones. So historically, the traditional "home-grown" coffee roasting style involves creating almost a caramel-like coating effect with the use of a small amount of sugar, oil, and generally a touch of vanilla or cocoa. This coating blackens in the roast and the beans wind up with almost a thin, hard shell. And here you are! The traditional coating gives all the beans a similar color. The presence of a few unripe beans does not hurt the overall taste effect of the blend. But the artificial coat gives Vietnamese coffee this delicious taste recognizable among hundreds.