Vietnamese coffee

Hi, my name is Vina and I'm a coffee addict. Specifically, I'm addicted to Vietnamese coffee--the rich, deep taste mixed with sugary, condensed milk over ice. Cafe sua da, as we call it here, is a must have every morning. Without a cup of this caffeinated goodness, I can't even pull myself out of my wooden table of a bed and have any strength to navigate the streets of Vietnam in search for an adventure. When I'm patient, I am willing to wait for the drip-drip of coffee out of the metal drip filter that is iconic to Vietnam's coffee culture.
When I'm not patient (which is most of the time) I either remind my uncle to grab me a cup of coffee after his daily morning trips to the coffee shop or even better, have him call the nearby coffee shop by cell phone and have them deliver it directly to our house. Without having to do anything myself other than wait about few minutes, I have a delicious cup of cafe sua da brought to the door of my uncle's house.
The accessibility to Vietnamese coffee everywhere I go has made me an addict. Vietnam's coffee culture is a residue of French rule, but it is distinctly Vietnamese. In Saigon, people like to drink their coffee with lots of ice. Poured only halfway in the cup, people just let time pass by, chit-chat with friends, catch up on yesterday's gossip and let the ice melt to dilute the strong coffee.

Coffee shops are everywhere and they don't carry the same negative connotations as they do back home. Most coffee shops here are family friendly, not the same blacked-out windows and scantily dressed servers we are hesitant (at least I am) to enter into back home.

Drinking cafe sua da is one of the things I'll miss most when I leave here. The coffee beans back home don't compare to the ones over here. Here, coffee is a lot darker and bitter. The condensed milk balances this bitterness, creating the perfect mix. And now I'm off, to have my afternoon cup of coffee.