Published:  10:01 Monday - July 25, 2016

Enjoy a cup of iced coffee becomes a traditional characteristic in Ho Chi Minh City. You can easily catch the image of iced coffee everywhere that attach to the local life.

The coffee, made from Vietnamese-grown dark roast coffee beans on the highlands, first brewed in a drip filter called “phin”, then, it is poured into a cup of ice to which condensed milk has been added.

Traditionally, coffee should be brewed for each individual customer using the filter, but these days when people are always in a hurry for their private business, coffee is oftentimes pre-made.

In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnamese coffee can be seen sold on literally almost every street at small outdoor shops on the pavements, which are usually run by ladies. Small stools are placed on the sidewalk for customers to help themselves with the coffee.

Moreover, you’ll see Vietnamese coffee sold on virtually every second street block, at small stands usually manned by women, who temporarily turn a portion of the footpath into a pavement café. Tiny colorful plastic stools are scattered about the sidewalk or stacked up against a wall, and customers help themselves to a seat while they wait for their coffee. So you never have to walk far in the sticky heat for a caffeine hit and coolant.