History
Coffee was introduced into Vietnam by French colonists in the late 19th century. Vietnam quickly became a strong exporter of coffee with many plantations in the central highlands. The beverage was adopted with regional variations. Because of limitations on the availability of fresh milk, the French and Vietnamese began to use sweetened condensed milk with a dark roast coffee.
Vietnamese-Americans introduced the practice of adding chicory to coffee, and many Americans today believe that all true Vietnamese coffee contains chicory. One brand that uses chicory is Cafe du Monde, often cited as the coffee to use when brewing Vietnamese iced coffee. However, Cafe du Monde originated in New Orleans, and chicory coffee is an American phenomenon. In Vietnam, coffee is never traditionally served with chicory, as a review of the top brands produced in Vietnam for home use and coffee shop house blends will show no chicory in the ingredients. Thus, a "true" Vietnamese iced coffee will not contain chicory, but will instead be a Vietnamese brand such as Trung Nguyen, Indochine Coffee, Highlands Coffee, QCafe, or Phuc Long, all of which are headquartered in Vietnam and offer exclusively coffee grown in the central highlands along the Annam Plateau that extends from the Da Lat region to Laos.
Read more about this topic: Vietnamese Iced Coffee
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