Vietnamese coffee filter set

Ever since I came back from Vietnam, I have been using these small "French presses", or Vietnamese coffee filter sets. I bought 3 sets for one dollar (15,000 dong) in Vietnam, and soon realized that I needed more. So, I bought a few in the U.S. (local VN grocery store) and noticed that they come in different forms. This one has the screw in press, which I don't like as much as the simple press down piece that just sits on top of the ground coffee. It works great. The screw in needs to be tighten until you hit the coffee, but don't tighten too much (low drip, or no drip) and too little (too fast), but just right. I can't figure it out.

It is much more difficult to remove the screw part after the coffee is done. Worse, sometimes it can be that it is screwed in too hard, so the water does not drain through, but now you can't loosen it, because the hot water covers the piece. That's why the simpler version works much better. I have never seen this construction in Vietnam either.

However, there is one advantage, it is that it is sturdier and lasts longer.

And this little gadget does the job much better than a Melitta style funnel and paper filter. If you grind your own you'll need to experiment a bit with how fine to grind and how tight to screw down the tamper, but after a few tries you should have the cup of coffee you want.

I have 4 now. They are pretty cool for serving coffee when you have company. I don't think the online price is outrageous, but if you are lucky enough to live in a city with a Vietnamese market you can pick these up for $3 each.

Buy Vietnamese coffee filter set Now

The Vietnamese styled coffee filter is really a nice bit of kit. It makes the often mundane act of drinking coffee into a ritual.

While its origins are south-east Asian, its has a cosmopolitan use that is quite underrated. If you're like me and have several different blends of coffee in your home to choose from, its nice to offer guests their choice of coffee without having to make several pots to do so.

You can alter the strength of the coffee by how tightly you compress the top filter in this apparatus. Thus enabling a "Lungo" or "ristretto" type of taste as you would find with espresso machines. This is however, not technically an espresso maker as espresso is made by forcing water through the ground coffee beans, while this apparatus uses gravity to distill the coffee.

Many people who first experience these will be in specialty Vietnamese restaurants, offered as a traditional "Cà phê su'a dá" (translated "Coffee milk ice"), but you should be able to find this nice little filter at many oriental specialty shops for anywhere between $3-$4. Don't worry about manufacturer, as I have seen several, and there seems to be absolutely no difference in quality. So don't pay a high price for this item.

Often, the best things are the simplest, and it doesn't get any simpler than this. It should last you decades of use.

Read Best Reviews of Vietnamese coffee filter set Here

Ever since having Vietnamese coffee at a restaurant in St. Louis (and then returning regularly to have Pho and coffee), I have wanted to buy one of these filters to use at home. The one at the restaurant uses friction to compress the coffee grinds with the insert, so this kind is a bit different in that you actually screw the insert down, but I haven't had any problems with it.

To use this properly, make sure to not screw the insert down too tightly it should be snug, but not tight. It might take a couple of tries to get this right. The coffee grounds need to be able to expand a bit. Once the insert is screwed down, pour a little bit (less than a cm) of water into the filter, and let that drip through. This allows the grounds to expand. If you don't do this step, sometimes the grounds actually escape from the filter up into the water chamber. Not too big of a deal, but the water runs through too quickly when that happens. After the small amount of water goes through, then fill the filter almost to the top with water, and cover it with the cap. About 4 minutes should pass before all of the water has gone through. Then, enjoy!

Want Vietnamese coffee filter set Discount?

The picture for this item shows the top of the screw on damper as flat, but the one we received has a convenient slot for a screwdriver or the flat bottom of your spoon handle. The lid doubles as a plate to set down the coffee filter after you're done with it.