Vietnam’s beloved Egg Coffee and the story of its invention

Surely, the Vietnamese, like their other counterparts in the world, enjoy their hot/cold caffeine fix and there are many cafés dotting the land to serve everyone’s coffee needs. However, coffee drinkers in Hanoi like to have their coffee with condensed milk, cheese, butter, sugar, and eggs added into it. Yes, you read it right, eggs!
Known as joe, cà phê trứng (egg coffee) was invented in 1946 due to shortage of milk brought about by the French War.

Voila! Egg coffee is invented

Nguyen Van Giang was a bartender at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel during war time Vietnam. When the hotel ran out of dairy stock, the quick-thinker Giang came up with an idea to substitute eggs for milk. When the staff members of the hotel tasted the coffee, they immediately gave this novel innovation thumbs up. Motivated by his unique invention, Giang quit his job at the hotel and started his own café business to serve egg coffee. Till date, the business has been running briskly even though there are many coffee shops in Hanoi serving egg coffee. The ingredients that go into making a cup of authentic egg coffee are trade secret, which is known only to Giang’s family.
What it tastes like?

The legendary egg coffee is not just a beverage, rather a dessert which has evolved in a better way from its original taste. The thick, delicious cuppa could even be followed after a hearty morning breakfast or a three course meal. There are hot and cold variations of the egg coffee–the cold version is feasted on with a spoon much like ice cream.

So, if you are not a vegetarian or vegan, you know where to go to satiate your caffeine craving.