Expressing yourself in Vietnam

Vietnam is well known for its expresso coffee. To savor the richness of Vietnamese expresso, you have to find the right blend and use proper percolating technique. Otherwise, your effort in making good aromatic expresso is wasted.

First, get good coffee. A good brand is Trung Nguyen. Try the Gourmet Blend.

Next you need the vinaly. This is the Vietnamese percolator. It costs only 5,000VND, about US$0.30, which is a steal.

Put just a teaspoon of the coffee powder in the vinaly and place the compactor in the vinaly. Do not put more than a teaspoon, unless you want really strong expresso.

Next place the vinaly over the cup and pour hot water at 100 degrees celcius, to fill the vinaly to the brim. Let the water trickle through and absorb the coffee flavor. While waiting, you can go over your PAP and and see where you are at. It doesn't take long, brewing the expresso, I mean. Your PAP may take longer to brew!

Take a peep in the vinaly and if all goes ok, there shouldn't be any water left, since it has been turned into fine expresso. Remove the vinaly and place it over its cover so as not to stain your fine table.

Take a deep breath over your hot Vietnamese expresso, and smell the coffee. Drink it while hot, and at the same time, go over your PAP again to ensure that you are on track.

Please be warned that Vietnamese expresso is very addictive, so much so that you may spend too much time brewing it, rather than making your PAP a success. If all else fails, I mean the PAP, come up with a nice coffee story in Jogjakarta next year!

Good luck with your PAP. (PS: I needed 10 Vietnamese expressos to keep me awake to get my PAP going.)