What is Salt Coffee? – a Hue Specialty!

Don’t leave central Vietnam without stopping in Hue to visit the Imperial City, sample the colorful and vibrant royal cuisine, and of course enjoying a cup of famous Hue salt coffee!

Vietnam is famous for its incredible coffee. Coffee-lovers like to say that Vietnam has some of the best coffee in the world! But if you are getting tired of your daily milk coffee, why not try something a little more unusual? Hanoi may be famous for Egg Coffee, the city’s specialty, but Hue has a special coffee drink of its own: Salt Coffee!

Salt coffee is brewed in a traditional Vietnamese stainless-steel coffee filter called a “phin”. When you order a salt coffee, you will be brought a fphin dripping filtered coffee into a cup of salty cream. After a few minutes, all of the coffee will be in the cup. Stir the coffee and cream together, and add a few ice cubes to cool it off. Central Vietnam is hot!

Even though the idea of salt coffee may sound strange, it actually works really well. The rich Vietnamese coffee combined with the salty cream gives the coffee a sweet distinctly caramel flavor.

You can find salt coffee at most cafes in Hue, but one of our favorite places is at Ca Phe Muoi. Some people in Hue even told us that this cafe is home to the original salt coffee (we couldn’t verify, but it’s still very cool)! The cafe is located just outside of the Hue Imperial City. The best part is, one salt coffee costs only 15,000d – that’s less than $1!

Ca Phe Muoi: 142 Đặng Thái Thân

Have  you tried salt coffee? What do you think? How does it compare to Hanoi egg coffee? Do you agree that Vietnamese coffee is among the best in the world? Let us know your thoughts!