Though Vietnam is one of the world’s top exporters, its coffee remains overlooked in Europe, where consumers tend to be more familiar with beans from Africa and South America. Now Vietnamese coffee culture is gaining ground in Paris, where a growing number of cafes are introducing the French capital to filter brews, egg coffee and other distinctive flavours.
Nam, owner of Hanoi Corner in the bustling Marais neighbourhood, remembers the puzzled looks of his French customers as they discovered not just Vietnamese coffee, but the art of drinking it.
"It’s truly Vietnamese-style coffee, where we take our time," he tells RFI. "And not everyone has 20 minutes to spare. The Vietnamese filter is the opposite of espresso."
In Vietnam, coffee is traditionally made using a phin filter – a small metal device that slow-brews coffee drop by drop.
At Hoa Cà Phê coffee shop in eastern Paris, Diane explains: "What we always tell customers who don’t know Vietnamese coffee at all is that they should try it in its most classic form: phin coffee, black or with condensed milk, hot or cold."
But French customers are often most intrigued by cà phê trứng – coffee mixed with whisked egg yolks, a Hanoi delicacy.
"We have a high demand for egg coffee," she says.
A taste of history
French colonisers first brought coffee plants to Vietnam in the 19th century, but it was only after independence that the country truly transformed coffee into an art of its own.
A century later, it’s the Vietnamese taste that is coming to France.
"For us, coffee is linked to the history between Vietnam and France," Nam explains. "As I am French of Vietnamese origin, I try to convey a culture that is somewhere between the two countries.
"We are happy because it allows us to showcase another side of Vietnamese culture that is a little less well known."
The movement is growing fast. "Eight years ago, we were the only Vietnamese café in Paris. Today, I think there are about 15," Nam says.
And new cafes are opening in the capital and beyond.
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'Vietnamese spirit'
Vietnam’s well-known Cộng Cà Phê chain opened its first French branch in Paris in August this year.
The brand’s distinctive retro decor, evoking Vietnam of the 1970s and 80s, sets it apart from other cafes, according to customer Duyên.
"And its coconut cream coffee is truly original," she adds.
"When coming to Paris, Cộng didn’t just want to open several coffee shops, but also to convey a Vietnamese spirit, a history of Vietnamese coffee," says Uyên Trần, the chain’s partnership manager.
The target was firstly the Vietnamese diaspora, she says, then the international public.
'Invisible' origins
Vietnam is the world’s second-largest coffee exporter, right behind Brazil. It sent more than 380,000 tonnes to the European Union in 2024, making Europe its largest market.
France is the third-largest importer of Vietnamese coffee in Europe, after Germany and Italy.
Most Vietnamese coffee that reaches Europe is raw robusta, however, which is most often processed or blended into instant coffee or capsules – leaving drinkers unaware of its Vietnamese origin or signature aroma.
"For all Westerners, not just French people, Asia does not exist in terms of coffee," says Frédéric Fortunel, a food researcher at the University of Le Mans.
"Our perception has been shaped by brands. They have constructed our image of it. And that is the paradox.
"The consequence is that Asian coffee, in general, cannot be promoted as a coffee of origin."
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Coffee street-style
Vietnamese coffee is distinguished as much by the way it is enjoyed as by its flavour.
For Mai Phuong, co-owner of Vỉahè Càphê near the Place de la Bastille, nothing reflects the essence of Vietnam’s coffee culture quite like small sidewalk cafes.
"For me, the best Vietnamese coffee is the kind you find in small cafes on the pavement, like in the old days," she says.
Her co-owner and partner, Van Phu, agrees: "That was the idea, to really recreate the experience of how coffee is drunk on the streets of Vietnam."
It wasn’t an easy concept to sell to Parisians. "It was quite daring," Mai recalls. "No one understood why they had to sit on these low plastic chairs, like children.
"But little by little, curiosity got the better of them."
