Vain Tastes #1 ( Vietnamese Coffee )

Welcome everyone to My first food and drink related post. Today I would like to introduce perhaps a new taste to You , "Vietnamese Coffee" . I truly belive it to be the best in the coffee world, now You may disagree. But rest assured that you are only limiting Yourself by not giving Yourself the pleasure of this delightful beverage....Now first I will tell You that I indulge in this delicacy on a daily basis ( this is My ritual ) but be warned....It is stronger than your average Starbucks, so don't drink too quickly now...It is best enjoyed slowly, on a hot day... Yes on a hot day, Oh did I forget to mention? Well I'll tell You now, ( all Vietnamese Coffee is iced ) . Yes that's right, it's very hot in Vietnam You know...So are You ready to see? I'll show You.... Now firstly You may or may not notice 1 of about 4 differences between " Vietnamese Coffee" and Your traditional western coffee. No.1 It is in a glass ( duh ) , No.2 All " Vietnamese Coffee" comes with a free glass of tea, that they periodically refill from time to time. No.3 the glass of coffee has condensed milk sitting in the glass already before the coffee falls into the glass, this is to add thickness and sweetness to the coffee. Also real dairy is hard to come by in Vietnam. No.4 is the coffee "Phim" as the Vietnamese call it, but I just call it a coffee drip. This is how all coffee is brewed here, right before Your very eyes. Nice huh? But these aren't the only differences. Before You can enjoy Your beverage, it is now your own responsability to mix and balance the taste of the coffee yourself. Now I must warn You, it is easy to ruin Your coffee here...But I will show you how to mix it properly so you can enjoy Yours without ruining it. Now first mix all the condensed milk into the coffee until you can no longer see any stuck to the bottom or the sides, then taste it ( see how sweet it is already from the milk ) if it isn't quite sweet enough then you can add a bit of sugar. Only add just a pinch of sugar to the mixture first, and then proceed to mix thoroughly. Then taste, it should taste very nice at this point. Now You may add ice to the mixture, remember it's very important not to add ice before sugar because the sugar will not mix into the coffee once the ice is present. *Before *After Alright now You're ready to enjoy some of the best coffee the world has to offer ( or " Cafe " as the Vietnamese call it ) or rather in My opinion " The Best " coffee experience money can buy, and it is an experience. Trust Me , the coffee shops here are insane and whole topic unto themselves. Also there are so many here its hard to count the number, I live in Cam Ranh ( a small town ) and there must be atleast 60 coffee shops here. They are all massive , and everyone in to flocks to them at night. I'll get into the coffee culture in greater detail in future posts. Anyway thanks for sticking around , and cheers to My fellow travelers out there. This ones to You My friends. Until next time....