Egg coffeeCà phê trứng

What egg coffee is

Cà phê trứng is made by beating egg yolks with condensed milk — and sometimes a small amount of the brewed coffee itself — until the mixture becomes pale, voluminous and mousse-like. This foam is spooned or poured over a shot of robusta coffee brewed through a Vietnamese phin filter. The result sits in two distinct layers: dark, bitter coffee below and a rich, sweet, slightly sulphurous custard above. Drinkers may stir the two together or work through them separately. The drink is served in a small glass or ceramic cup, often rested in a dish of hot water to keep the coffee warm beneath the cold foam.

Origin and history

The drink is attributed to Nguyễn Văn Giang, a bartender at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi during the late 1940s. At a time when fresh milk was scarce — partly due to the disruption of the First Indochina War — Giang experimented with egg yolk as a substitute for the dairy then used in coffee drinks popular with French colonists. After leaving the Metropole, he opened Café Giảng on Yên Phụ Street, which his family continues to operate. The café is widely regarded as the original home of the drink, though the recipe has since spread across the city and beyond.

Where it is drunk

Egg coffee remains most closely associated with Hanoi, where a cluster of small, often multi-generational cafés serve it as a speciality rather than a sideline. Café Giảng retains a strong following; Café Đinh, on a narrow lane off Đinh Tiên Hoàng near Hoàn Kiếm Lake, is another long-established address. Both venues are compact and furnished simply, with low stools and a deliberate absence of the modern café aesthetic found elsewhere in the city. The drink has travelled to Ho Chi Minh City and other urban centres, where it appears in cafés targeting younger customers, though Hanoi is still considered its home.

Variations

Several variants exist alongside the standard hot version. A cold preparation — cà phê trứng đá — places the egg foam over iced coffee; the contrast between cold coffee and room-temperature foam changes the texture and flavour balance considerably. Egg cocoa (ca cao trứng) replaces the coffee base with hot chocolate, producing a drink with no caffeine and a sweeter, more confectionery character that appeals to those who do not drink coffee. Some cafés offer egg tea (trà trứng), in which black or lotus tea replaces the coffee. A minority of recipes incorporate additional flavourings such as vanilla or cheese powder into the foam, though purists regard these as departures from the original.