The 6 essential drinks in Vietnam

What do Vietnamese people drink and what will you have the chance to taste during your stay in Vietnam? Discover without delay what the 6 essential drinks in Vietnam are!

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1. Coffee, the Vietnamese star

As Vietnam is the second largest producer of coffee in the world, it is only natural that coffee is the star of the country's drinks. In big cities and even often in the countryside, cafes can be found almost everywhere. Even on the sidewalk with a small plastic stool or more comfortably seated on the terrace of a cafe, we can enjoy drinking our little black coffee from the rich Vietnamese soil, while observing the effervescence of the typical Vietnamese street. The Vietnamese have elevated drinking coffee to the art of living. Very often, it is quite a ceremony to do this. Coarsely ground coffee is prepared using a stainless steel filter placed on the cup or glass. Once hot water has been poured through the filter, the coffee will slowly flow into the cup. Some drink it with ice cubes, others with condensed milk, and some Hanoi cafes offer an original recipe: coffee with egg, it’s deliciously creamy!

2. Tea, the traditional drink

Tea is arguably the most traditional drink in Vietnam that is drunk all over the country, even in the most remote areas where you will always be served a cup of tea. The cultivation of tea in Vietnam is a tradition dating back over 3,000 years. The Vietnamese consume tea anywhere and at any time of the day, a hot cup during the early hours of the morning, at work, but also during and after meals. Drinking tea is a complex art in Vietnam. The choice of tea, its preparation, boiling water, infusing, washing the cups and filling them all follow very specific codes. There is green tea, the most common, but also tea flavoured with lotus, jasmine, chlorantus or chrysanthemum flowers which exhale delicate floral scents. Hot or iced, take the time to enjoy a good cup of tea during your trip to Vietnam.

3. Smoothies, the pleasure drink

Vietnam is a fruit paradise and you will be delighted with all the fresh juices the country has to offer. Indulge yourself with the delicious "sinh to", a combination of fruit and milk, orange juices, pomelo, lemon and other tasty tropical fruits. On sunny days, treat yourself to a fresh coconut whose water is as refreshing as it is nutritious. Be sure to try the cane juice that is obtained by pressing the sticks of sugar cane with a machine.

4. Beer, the popular drink

Ah! Beer is the most popular drink in Vietnam, moreover, the Vietnamese are the highest consumers of beer in ASEAN with 4 billion litres of beer drunk in 2017. In Vietnam, each region and many cities have their own brand of beer: bia Hanoi, bia Saigon, bia Halong or Festival beer as is found in Hue. But the one that the Vietnamese particularly like is bia hoi, which literally means "cold beer" in Vietnamese. It’s a light draft beer at a ridiculously low price that is served in bars or restaurants dedicated to good fellowship and hearty toasting. During your stay in Vietnam, be sure to drink a bia hoi to treat yourself to a good slice of Vietnamese culture.

5. Rice alcohol for more conviviality

This alcohol made from glutinous rice, very often produced by hand in the countryside, is a symbol of Vietnamese culture. Rice alcohol livens up meals and even more so celebratory meals like weddings and even funerals. An alcohol that is drunk dry in small glasses or teacups which symbolise conviviality and brotherhood. Among some ethnicities, guests arrange themselves around a jar of fermented rice alcohol and all drink together using long bamboo straws.

6. Wine, a legacy of the French presence

Even if the consumption of wine in Vietnam remains very marginal, the amateurs are growing more and more and the country itself even produces wine, the wine of Dalat, which was inherited from the French colonists who had launched the wine growing at the beginning of the XXth century in the Central Highlands. Available in red, white or even rosé, it is a modest wine that improves year by year and one that we invite you to taste to arouse your curiosity and your palate.

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