Hanoi isn’t new to coffee. In fact, you could even call it Vietnam’s unofficial coffee hub.
The French introduced coffee to Vietnam in the mid-1800s. Vietnam took it and made it their own, shaping their own coffee culture. Yes, we are talking about those bold, earthy, strong robusta brewed with a phin. During war and uncertainties, when locals found it difficult to source fresh milk for coffee, they turned to sweetened condensed milk and created the legendary Vietnamese iced coffee. In the capital, Hanoians replaced milk with beaten egg yolk and sugar, which resulted in the city’s famous egg coffee, now served almost everywhere you look.
Today, Vietnam is the world’s second largest coffee producer, and life in the capital seemingly revolves around this caffeinated beverage. Locals in their office suits retreat to tiny red and blue plastic stools that spill onto pavements, sipping their coffee, sitting next to strangers who slurp a bowl of steaming pho early in the morning. These strong, sweetened phin filter brews are still a core part of coffee culture in Vietnam.
Recently, however, a new sleeve of ambitious third wave coffee shops is cropping up across this vibrant city home to over eight million people (larger than New York City). Homegrown baristas are now offering pour-overs, roasting single-origin beans from the country’s highlands, and sourcing specialty blends from across the world. Some of them are merging tradition with modernity, and coming up with new, innovative ways to serve the popular local robusta.
This is our second coffee guide to Hanoi, a city that continues to evolve in its coffee department.
Ta Cà Phê 3
During my search for Hanoi’s new generation of baristas and specialty coffee spots, I stumbled upon Ta Cà Phê 3 by accident. Located on Hang Thiec, one of the 36 alleys of the capital’s Old Quarter, this little coffee shop–part of a farm-to-cup coffee initiative with two other outlets across Hanoi–isn’t necessarily “fancy”. You’ll easily walk past it thinking that it’s one of those hundreds of streetside coffee shops, but it delivers some of the best coffee in the Vietnamese capital with friendly service. Pull up a tiny stool and sit outside on the sidewalk—yes, that’s how everyone does it in Hanoi—as silversmiths around you hammer, cut, shape and polish their craft.
You get to choose from six types of Vietnamese-grown coffee beans, including 100% honey-processed Arabica, full-bodied Robusta, and the signature Sonata blend. There are two menus: Italian style and Vietnamese. They offer V60, AeroPress, syphon, and phin filter drip coffee. My espresso-based ginger coffee pulled on an all-white La Nuova Era Altea was fresh and completely rounded, a welcoming respite from Vietnam’s ubiquitous sweetened coffee drinks. But if you are still looking for something local, their yogurt coffee, which I later tried, is exceptional. A few small shelves store beans from Vietnam’s different regions, and the chatty baristas can help you pick anything that suits your palate.
Dream Beans
For nearly seven years, Dream Beans have been brewing coffee in the city’s Old Quarter, and now with a second outlet: a smaller “little corner” cafe. This independent, family-run coffee shop is so cozy that it’s a place where strangers meet, talk, and become friends. At their main branch with three floors, houseplants, and warm, earthy tones, you’ll also see their in-house roastery.
Dream Beans sources their coffee from across the country. Their Sweet Dreams project includes light roasted blends with fruity and acidity notes, excellent for cold brews or pour-overs. The honey-processed Son La Specialty from Vietnam’s northern mountains is particularly popular, with sweet, gentle notes of stone fruit, lime, and herbal tea. Others on offer are medium roasted, single-origin beans, Arabica blends with bright acidity, and Robusta coffee with notes of dark chocolate, typically brewed using a phin or moka pot.
At their second cafe, I tasted a Dalat/Son La Arabica espresso blend, cappuccino with oat milk: subtly sour, nutty, and caramelized. Despite their commitment for high quality coffee and international standards, Dream Beans is very much rooted in Vietnamese tradition, too, with Hanoi’s famous coconut coffee made with sweet condensed milk on offer. They also do a great matcha latte, mango and pineapple smoothies, and yogurt drinks with cacao. For food, look for their peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
Still Color Cafe
Still Color Cafe derives the name from the idea that despite the hardships a person goes through, they still carry a purpose, a value. And this is exactly how they want their coffee to be. Located on a bustling narrow street only a couple of blocks away from the iconic St. Joseph Cathedral, this tiny brew bar with a retro vibe serves some of Hanoi’s well-crafted coffee. It’s cozy and laid back with chill music. You’ll often see groups of friends or people enjoying their solo dates outside, working on laptops and sipping their coffee.
Since opening their doors in 2022, Still Color Cafe has turned to the Vietnamese Bean Hop Coffee Roastery, including Malaysian-grown coffees.
The menu is simple. The La Marzocco Linea Mini on the counter churns out a solid espresso, smooth, and flavorful. They’ve also got matcha lattes and takeaway cold brews perfect for those Instagram pictures. A couple of local drinks on the menu include bac xiu, a quintessentially Vietnamese phin-filtered coffee made with chilled fresh milk that draws inspiration from the French colonial days and originated in Saigon (HCMC) in the south of the country.
I also love their specialties: pineapple and lime soda; chocolate espresso with marshmallow cream; whiskey and lemon-infused cold brew.
Third Wave Roasters
Last few years saw most of Hanoi’s independent specialty coffee shops grow and progress. Third Wave Roastery is one of those. Founder Trần Tuấn Linh, whose love for coffee led him to purchase green beans from eBay, began Third Wave as a small roastery. Now, it sits on the side of a row of communist-era buildings outside the capital’s historical Old Quarter. Take a 30-minute stroll south of the Hoan Kiem Lake to the cafe’s new location, where you’ll spot the Sanremo Verona 3 on the side of the counter.
Third Wave’s beans come from Vietnam and all over the world: there’s full-bodied Robusta from Vietnam’s central mountains; Central American Gesha that works well for manual brews; a Brazilian/Colombian/Ethiopian blend ideal for cold brews; and Laotian coffee with stone fruit, floral, and caramel notes.
My Gori Gesha espresso sourced from the farms of Ethiopia tasted like a mix of passionfruit and raspberry. Every espresso comes with a butter cookie crafted by baker Đặng Nguyên Nhung, who spent several years living in Italy before returning home. You can also pick from Nhung’s other baked goods, like croissants and pain au chocolat. The cafe’s manual brews include an impressive list of V60, Melitta, Kalita, and Chemex among others.
Whatever you pick, you’ll be rewarded. It’s just a really, really good spot with good people serving great coffee.
VULAB Specialty Coffee
Clean, contemporary, and cozy. That’s how I would describe this inviting coffee shop located in a hidden alley in one of Hanoi’s quieter streets. The small courtyard is particularly charming with houseplants. Inside, the interior is bright with tiled floors, white and gray tones, and sleek furniture.
At the bar, owner and coffee connoisseur Vu—and his baristas—are always eager to give you a crash course on coffee, and even show you how to brew coffee using a siphon. Vu opened his coffee shop just over a year ago and treats it as a laboratory, so you’ll find him always trying to introduce new things to the menu.
On my first visit, I loved their apricot cold drip. They’ve also got a short but excellent seasonal menu that offers pumpkin spice lattes and mulberry cold drips. Traditional phin coffee aside, Vu brings high quality beans from Ethiopia, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. On the espresso menu, brewed using a Sanremo YOU, is Americano “Beer,” a steamed, frothy drink. For something else, opt for their matcha or cocoa lattes, hibiscus and passion fruit refreshers, or lemon oolong.
Zinara Rathnayake is a freelance journalist based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Read more Zinara Rathnayake on Sprudge.
Photos by Nathan Mahendra.
