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Woman mid-sip of Vietnamese iced coffee at an outdoor gingham table — summer afternoon ritual with Pho'nomenal Jackfruit Chips

How to Make Vietnamese Iced Coffee at Home (And What to Eat With It)

Fair warning: this is not your typical iced coffee.

Cà Phê Sữa Đá - Vietnamese iced coffee - is strong, cold, and sweet in a way that other iced coffees simply aren't. It's made with dark-roasted Vietnamese coffee, brewed slowly through a small metal filter, and poured over ice with a generous pour of sweetened condensed milk at the bottom. It takes about ten minutes and will absolutely ruin every other iced coffee for you.

In Vietnam, this drink is part of the rhythm of the afternoon. You don't rush it. You make it, you sit with it, and for a little while the day actually slows down. That's not a bad thing to borrow. And in summer? This is when it really earns its place. The heat is real, the afternoon slump is real, and a cold, bold, just-sweet-enough coffee is one of the more satisfying answers to both. Here's how to make it at home. 

WHAT MAKES VIETNAMESE COFFEE DIFFERENT

Two things set this drink apart: the coffee and the way it's brewed.

Vietnamese coffee is typically a dark roast — bold, full-bodied, and slightly chocolatey. The most common brands you'll find are Trung Nguyên and Café Du Monde (which adds a touch of chicory for extra depth). A lighter roast will technically work, but it won't be the same drink. The boldness is the point — the coffee has to hold its own against ice and condensed milk without disappearing.

The phin filter is a small, stackable metal brewer that sits directly on your glass. You add coffee, pour in hot water, and let gravity do the work — slowly, over four to six minutes. No paper filter. No electricity. The result is a concentrated brew somewhere between espresso and drip, and it's genuinely excellent. 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Vietnamese phin filter dripping coffee into a glass on terracotta tile - how to make cà phê sữa đá at home
  • A Vietnamese phin filter (around $8–12 — link here)
  • Vietnamese dark roast coffee, coarsely ground
  • Sweetened condensed milk — and we need to talk about this
  • A tall glass and plenty of ice
  • Hot water, just off the boil

On the condensed milk: This is where we draw the line. Not oat milk. Not regular milk with sugar. Not creamer. Sweetened condensed milk — thick, sweet, slightly caramelized — is what makes this drink what it is. It melts slowly into the coffee as you stir and creates something no substitution comes close to replicating. If you don't have it on hand, that's what the grocery list is for. We'll wait.

THE RECIPE

Vietnamese Iced Coffee (Cà Phê Sữa Đá) Serves 1 | Brew time: 5–7 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2–3 tablespoons Vietnamese dark roast coffee, coarsely ground
  • 1–2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (adjust to taste)
  • ½ cup hot water (just off the boil — around 200°F)
  • 1 cup ice

Instructions

  1. Spoon 1–2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk into the bottom of a tall glass. Don't stir — let it sit.
  2. Set your phin filter on top of the glass. Add 2–3 tablespoons of ground coffee to the filter chamber.
  3. Place the gravity press (the inner plate) on top of the grounds and press down gently. This controls the drip speed — tighter means slower, stronger brew.
  4. Pour a small splash of hot water over the grounds first, just enough to bloom them. Wait 30 seconds.
  5. Add the remaining water (about ½ cup) to the filter chamber. Set the lid on top and let it drip through. Plan for 4–6 minutes. If it finishes in under 3 minutes, press the gravity plate down a little more next time. Over 8 minutes, loosen it slightly.
  6. Once the coffee has fully dripped through, remove the phin. You now have a small, concentrated cup of coffee sitting directly over the condensed milk.
  7. Fill a separate glass with ice. Pour the coffee-and-condensed-milk mixture over the ice and stir until the condensed milk fully dissolves and the color shifts to that warm caramel brown. Taste and adjust — more condensed milk if you want it sweeter, a splash more coffee if you want it stronger.
  8. Drink immediately.

On ratios: These are starting points, not rules. Vietnamese iced coffee is personal — some people go heavy on the milk, some keep it light. Start with 1.5 tablespoons and adjust from there until it's yours.

WHAT TO EAT WITH IT

Small dish of Pho'nomenal Jackfruit Chips beside a glass of Vietnamese iced coffee on hand-painted tile — high-fiber snack and coffee pairing

A good afternoon ritual deserves a snack that actually keeps up. Pho'nomenal Jackfruit Chips are made from one ingredient: ripened jackfruit. No oil, no salt, nothing else. They're crispy, lightly sweet, and have just enough tropical edge to work alongside a bold coffee without competing with it. Four grams of fiber per serving, fifty calories, zero fat. They don't taste like a compromise — they just taste good.

Next to something cold, strong, and slightly sweet, they're exactly right. Light enough not to overshadow the coffee. Interesting enough to make the break feel intentional. 

THE PHIN FILTER: WORTH GETTING

If you don't have one yet, this is your sign. They're small, easy to clean, and cost less than two trips to a coffee shop. Here's a good option for a phin filter on Amazon. Any phin in the 4–6 oz range works well for a single serving — and it will outlast every single-use coffee gadget you've ever bought.

Ready to make the break official? Grab a bag of Jackfruit Chips and make it a full ritual.

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Natural Fiber
Low Calorie
Gluten Free
No Added Sugar
Vegan
  • Pho'nomenal Ripened Jackfruit Chips (13oz Bag)
  • Pho'nomenal Ripened Jackfruit Chips (13oz Bag)
  • Pho'nomenal Ripened Jackfruit Chips (13oz Bag)

Pho'nomenal Ripened Jackfruit Chips (13oz Bag)

Regular price $17.99
Unit price per

You May be wondering...

Find the most frequently asked questions about Jackfruit Chips below.

  • Pho'nomenal Jackfruit Chips are naturally sweet and crunchy — think somewhere between a dried fruit chip and a light crispy snack. They don't taste savory or meat-like. If you've heard of jackfruit as a pulled pork substitute, that's a completely different preparation. Our chips are made from ripe jackfruit, vacuum-fried until crispy, with a naturally sweet tropical flavor that's unlike anything else in the chip aisle.

  • They're made from one ingredient — ripened jackfruit — with no added sugar, no artificial anything, no MSG, no dairy, and no gluten. Jackfruit is naturally high in fiber and contains phytonutrients, vitamins, and potassium. Compared to most snacks in a bag, the ingredient list is remarkably short and the nutritional profile is genuinely solid. They're the kind of snack you can feel good about reaching for.

  • Jackfruit is naturally higher in fiber than most fruits — and because our chips are made from nothing but ripened jackfruit, that fiber carries through into the chip. There's no added sugar — any sweetness you taste comes entirely from the fruit itself. For the exact numbers per serving, check the nutrition label on the bag or the product page — but the short version is: more fiber than you'd expect from a chip, and zero grams of added sugar.

  • Both — and the recipe uses might surprise you. Crushed Jackfruit Chips work as a crouton replacement on salads, a granola substitute on yogurt bowls, a topping for overnight oats, and even a bark topping for frozen yogurt desserts. The natural sweetness plays really well with acid — a bright vinaigrette, a squeeze of lime, a drizzle of honey. Straight from the bag is always great. But once you start using them as a topping, it's hard to stop.

  • Yes — completely peanut-free. They're also free from gluten, dairy, soy, MSG, and artificial ingredients. One ingredient: ripened jackfruit. This makes them one of the most allergy-friendly snacks you can bring to a group setting — a picnic, a game, a classroom — without worrying about who can and can't have them.

  • Vacuum-frying uses lower temperatures and reduced pressure to remove moisture from the fruit without exposing it to the high heat of conventional frying. The result is a crispy, crunchy chip that retains more of the fruit's natural flavor, color, and nutrients — and absorbs significantly less oil than a traditionally fried chip. It's also why our chips stay crunchy without feeling greasy.

  • A few reasons. Jackfruit is a large tropical fruit that requires careful harvesting and processing. Vacuum-frying is a more precise and costly process than conventional frying. And we use one ingredient — no fillers, no artificial flavor enhancers, nothing to pad out the bag cheaply. What you're paying for is a snack that's actually made from real food, made well. Most people find the bag lasts longer than expected too because the chips are genuinely satisfying.

  • Keep them in a cool dry place — a pantry or cupboard works perfectly. No refrigeration needed. Once opened, fold the bag closed or transfer to a sealed container to keep them at their crunchiest. They're shelf-stable and will keep well past the best-by date on the bag as long as they stay dry. The biggest enemy of the crunch is moisture — keep them away from humidity and they'll stay crispy until the last chip.

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