When the afternoon sun leers down and the exhaustion of another day in the hectic city bores its way into your brain, nothing is more satisfying than downing a refreshing cup of iced coffee.
While many Saigoneer’s routines include a stop at a street cart for a cà phê đá or an iced cappuccino from a chain, Vietnam Coffee Republic has recently put a new option out into Saigon’s café culture - cold brew coffee.
Even if served on ice, the majority of coffee consumed around the world is made by using hot water to extract the flavors and caffeine from ground coffee beans. Cold brew, however, involves slowly trickling cool water through the grinds to coax out subtle fruit, nut, malt and smoke notes. The result is a more balanced, less harshly acidic or oily drink that also contains more caffeine.
Cold brew coffee was likely first invented by Kyoto artisans in the 17th century who applied their traditional tea making process to the coffee that Dutch merchants introduced into the country. The process was also independently discovered and spread throughout Europe by French soldiers barricaded in an Algerian fortress during the 19th century. In the past 10 years, it has exploded in popularity across the West, with independent boutique shops and major chains adding it to their menus. Vietnam Coffee Republic, a four-year-old coffee roaster and shop with two locations in Saigon, therefore isn’t doing something new, but they are doing it the right way.
In order to do this, Vietnam Coffee Republic employs the highest-quality ingredients available. To make their cold brew, they ease filtered, mineral-rich water through the coffee grounds for 16 hours, unlike the typical 8 or 12. The store founder worked closely with farmers in Cau Dat, outside Dalat to design an exclusive blend of 100% Vietnamese-grown Arabica beans. He helped develop the ideal shipping and processing methods to produce a sweet, creamy profile with hints of chocolate and a soft aroma. A single sip makes clear the smooth, refreshing difference of cold brew coffee.
You will now notice numerous shops in Saigon with the large glass bulbs with coiled dripping system, indicating cold brew coffee is available. Yet until now, there was no way to enjoy it unless you had the time and ability to go to the shop in person. And, all the canned or bottled alternatives you can buy at convenience stores are not really coffee, but beverages loaded with sugars, chemicals and preservatives that more closely resemble sodas or energy drinks. Vietnam Coffee Republic is changing the game with their recently released ready-to-drink bottles of Cong Hoa Ca Phe Da that allow customers to enjoy authentic cold brew without stepping foot inside a café.
Each 250 mL bottle of Cong Hoa Ca Phe Da contains five shots of fresh, real cold brew coffee. Because they don’t rely on chemicals or pasteurization, but instead a state-of-the-art packaging process, the bottles retain all the flavor of a freshly brewed batch for up to six months. You can stash one in your refrigerator for the mornings you can’t be bothered to trudge to the store or slip one into your bag as you head out for the day. The drink is best enjoyed neat or with a cube of ice in a highball glass and its clean flavors make it an excellent vessel for a dash of your favorite alcohol.
Because brewing coffee with the patient, cold water process produces a less volatile and bitter beverage than if it were made with hot water, it blends especially well with sweetened condensed milk. This month, Vietnam Coffee Republic released bottles of Cong Hoa Sua Da made with cold brew coffee that stays fresh for up to two months.
Whether you like it black, with milk, with or without sugar, if you are a coffee lover you must try the improved drinkability of this cold brew coffee. To taste the future of coffee in Vietnam, you can find bottles of ready-to-go, ready-to-drink Cong Hoa Ca Phe Da and Cong Hoa Sua Da at either of Vietnam Coffee Republic’s D1 shops or have it delivered to your door through their convenient online store.
Vietnam Coffee Republic's website
8A/7B2 Thai Van Lung street, D1, HCMC
8A/6D2 Thai Van Lung street, D1, HCMC
