Vietnamese Coffee Making Class with Egg Coffee Ho Chi Minh City

The Coffee Workshop in Alley 131

The class takes place in a small workshop down hem 131, one of the narrow residential alleys that thread through central Ho Chi Minh City. Saigon's alleys are where much of daily life happens: neighbours cook on doorsteps, children ride bicycles between plant pots and tiny cafés serve coffee on low plastic stools. Stepping off the main road into the alley is a quick lesson in how the city really lives.

Inside, the workshop is set up with individual brewing stations, phin filters, kettles and all the ingredients you need, so each guest works hands-on rather than just watching. Groups stay small enough for the barista to correct your technique cup by cup. How to get to the coffee workshop: taxis and ride-hailing cars usually stop at the entrance of alley 131; walk down the corridor and it is the fourth building on the left.

Egg Coffee: Vietnam's Most Famous Cup

Egg coffee, ca phe trung, was created in Hanoi in the 1940s, when fresh milk was scarce and a resourceful café cook whisked egg yolk with sugar and condensed milk into a thick, sweet cream to float on strong black coffee. The result tastes like a cross between custard and tiramisu, and it has become one of the drinks visitors most want to try in Vietnam.

In the class you learn how to make Vietnamese egg coffee properly: separating the yolk, whisking until pale and airy, and pouring the foam over a short, intense phin brew so the layers stay distinct. The barista explains why the cup is traditionally set in a bowl of hot water to keep it warm, and how to adjust sweetness. This is usually the highlight of the egg coffee class in Ho Chi Minh City, and the recipe is easy to repeat after your trip.

Phin Brewing, Iced Milk Coffee, Salt and Coconut

Everything starts with the phin, a small metal drip filter that sits on top of the cup and lets hot water seep slowly through dark-roasted Robusta, taking four to five minutes per cup. You learn the right grind, the amount of coffee, how to bloom it with a little water and when to press the lid, then pour the brew over condensed milk and ice for ca phe sua da, the iced milk coffee that powers Saigon every morning.

From there you move on to two newer favourites. Sea-salt coffee, born in the central city of Hue, tops the coffee with a lightly salted cream that brings out its sweetness. Coconut coffee blends coconut milk, condensed milk and ice into a smooth, frosty drink that is perfect for the tropical heat. By the end you understand how texture and temperature change every cup.

Vietnam's Coffee Story and Saigon Café Culture

Coffee arrived in Vietnam with French missionaries in the mid-nineteenth century, and plantations spread across the Central Highlands around Buon Ma Thuot. Today Vietnam is one of the largest coffee producers on earth and the leading grower of Robusta, the stronger, more bitter bean that explains the dark roasts and the love of condensed milk, which kept well in the heat long before refrigerators.

The class closes with tasting and a Q&A where the barista talks about how Saigon drinks coffee today, from sidewalk stools at dawn to specialty roasters. Is a Vietnamese coffee workshop in Saigon worth it? For anyone who enjoys coffee, yes: it is a relaxed way to spend two hours, it works in any weather, and you leave able to recreate the drinks with the recipe book.