CaliToday (24/9/2025): Drinking coffee topped with a thick, pale yellow foam made from raw egg yolks might seem strange at first, but those who have tried the velvety Vietnamese egg coffee, or cà phê trứng, often become instant fans. This rich, dessert-like beverage has a story as compelling as its flavor, one that travels from a war-torn Hanoi to bustling modern cafés in the United States.
For Emmy Le, egg coffee was the sole inspiration behind opening Le’DRIP in Houston with her sister. “Three years ago, I was in Vietnam [and] I tried egg coffee for the first time in Saigon, and it blew my mind,” says Le. “I discovered coconut coffee and egg coffee, and I am telling you, I was so addicted that I was drinking three to four coffees a day on that trip.”
Considered a signature drink of Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, egg coffee has become so popular that it’s now a staple throughout the country. In the late 2010s, the drink began to make its mark on the United States, captivating a new audience with its unique texture and taste. And while it may seem like a decadent indulgence, it was first created out of scarcity.
What is Vietnamese Egg Coffee?
At its heart, Vietnamese egg coffee is a study in balance. It begins with a strong, short coffee brewed using a phin filter, a traditional slow-drip method that produces a powerful, concentrated brew.
The coffee itself is traditionally made using Robusta beans. The Southeast Asian country is the world’s largest exporter of these highly caffeinated beans. “The beans are [strong] and bold in flavor with a chocolatey flavor profile,” says Jennie Tang of H & L Wholesale Food Corporation, the distribution company that brought the popular Vietnamese coffee shop chain Trung Nguyên Legend Café to the U.S. “It also has double the caffeine content than the arabica counterpart.”
The star of the show, however, is the egg foam. Whipping it to the proper consistency is a delicate process. “It’s like flan,” says Vince Nguyen, founder of the California-based Vietnamese coffee importer and roaster Nam Coffee Roasters.
Typically, two egg yolks are whisked with sugar or sweetened condensed milk (or both) until the mixture becomes foamy, creamy, and meringue-like. “The amount of time you whip it up affects the texture as well as the taste,” says Tang. “So we have to whip it up to a certain consistency, but not too much where it loses flavor.”
This cloud-like egg cream is then spooned generously over the hot, dark coffee. According to Nguyen, when the sweet, creamy foam is combined with the robust, almost bitter coffee, “it’s really well balanced.”
A History Born of Necessity
Vietnamese egg coffee is said to have been invented by Nguyen Van Giảng in Hanoi in 1946. During the First Indochina War in the 1940s, there was a severe milk shortage in Vietnam. Giảng was working as a bartender at the prestigious Metropole Hotel in Hanoi. While searching for a creamy substitute for milk in the hotel’s coffee drinks, he had the ingenious idea of whisking egg yolks with sugar. Surprisingly, the sweet, airy foam paired perfectly with Vietnam’s strong coffee.
Giảng’s creation became so popular that he left the hotel to open his own coffee shop, Café Giảng, in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The café, now run by his son, still specializes in egg coffee and is a must-visit destination for locals and tourists alike.
Vietnamese Egg Coffee in the U.S.
For decades, egg coffee was primarily found in Hanoi. But as its fame grew, it spread throughout the country and eventually overseas. The Vietnamese coffee landscape in the U.S. has changed significantly in just the last few years, with a new generation of Vietnamese Americans opening roasters and cafés in cities like Los Angeles, Portland, and Houston.
These shops have introduced American coffee drinkers to cà phê trứng, though often with a few local adaptations. The most significant change is the temperature. Unlike the traditional Vietnamese egg coffee that’s served hot, you’ll most likely find iced variations in the U.S.
When Trung Nguyên Legend Café opened its first U.S. location in Westminster, California, in 2023, the franchise initially didn't have an iced version. “But here in the States, a lot of people just really love iced drinks,” says Tang. They quickly added one to the menu, and it’s now by far the more popular of the two. “We don’t really do a lot of hot egg coffee unless it’s wintertime,” she says.
The drink is a massive hit. Trung Nguyên now sells 150 to 200 egg coffees a day, and Vince Nguyen of Nam Coffee Roasters says, “I go through about 3 lbs of eggs every day.” At all three shops, it's a top seller.
Another common modification is serving the foam over Vietnamese coffee already mixed with condensed milk (cà phê sữa) instead of just black coffee, making for an even richer experience.
So what happens to all the leftover egg whites? Not to worry, they aren't wasted. Tang lets her staff at Trung Nguyên Legend Café take the byproducts home for cooking. “Our team likes the egg whites,” says Tang. “And the eggshells are really great for fertilizers, too. My mom comes in and grabs the eggshells.”
