Do any coffee lovers like Thai/Vietnamese iced coffee?

No comparison between Thai and Viet iced coffee in flavor, sweetness level, mouth feel etc. - radically different. I occasionally have Thai iced coffee but it's rarely as satisfying as I hope it to be. Viet coffee can be mediocre to not bad here in the US when made with brands like Cafe du Monde but make it with Trung Ngyuen and it can be stellar.

1) must used the little metal Viet "espresso" maker that sits atop a glass and makes one serving
2) have to experiment with right dose level and how hard to turn th screw on the filter screen - too loose and it's weak... too tight and it won't drop through
3) must go easy on the sweetened condensed milk

Vietnam has boatloads (literally) of bad coffee but also has some decent Arabica. The good coffee grown there rarely gets beyond Vietnam or Thailand because there's a good domestic market for it there. Trung Ngyuen has lots of different blends but the one I can get in the US, despite being pre-ground vac packed bags, makes the richest and most chocolatey Viet iced coffee I've ever had.

Yes - I know from coffee. I'm a roaster, cup regularly, am intimately familiar with true specialty coffee etc. That said... I am still trying to come up with a blend of quality coffees from other origins (not Southeast Asia) that has a similar taste profile and have not succeeded yet. I spent ten days in Vietnam in January 2010 and had an average of four ca phe sua da every day. They ranged from undrinkable to sublime. Most were bette than one usually gets in the US but there's a Viet restaurant in my community that makes it as good as any I tried in Vietnam.

Phaelon56 in General Chowhounding Topics