Rich, creamy, and unlike anything else in a café – egg coffee is one of Vietnam’s most distinctive drinks. Here’s what it is, what goes into it, how to make it, and where to find it in Paris.
Egg coffee is one of those drinks that sounds stranger than it tastes. The name raises questions, the texture feels unexpected, and then the first sip makes everything easier to understand.
Egg coffee is a Vietnamese coffee drink made from strong black coffee and thick whipped cream of egg yolk and condensed milk. It is served in a small cup with the cream floating in a pale, foam-like layer above the dark coffee beneath. You do not stir it. You drink through it, and every sip passes through both textures at once. The result is unlike anything produced by an espresso machine or a milk steamer, which is precisely why it has attracted attention far beyond Vietnam’s borders in recent years.
What Is Egg Coffee?
Egg coffee, known in Vietnamese as cà phê trứng, is a layered café drink in which brewed coffee serves as the base and a whipped mixture of egg yolk and condensed milk forms the topping. Depending on the recipe and the season, it is served either hot (the cup nested in a small bowl of warm water to maintain temperature) or cold (over ice, with the cream poured on top).
The drink belongs to Vietnamese coffee culture, specifically to Hanoi, where it was created and where it remains most closely associated. Outside Vietnam, it is increasingly found in Vietnamese cafés in Paris, London, New York, and other cities with significant Vietnamese communities. It served both as a menu item and as a way of introducing non-Vietnamese customers to a style of café drink that has no direct equivalent in Western coffee tradition.
Egg Coffee Ingredients
The simplicity of the ingredients makes the finished drink feel almost unexpected.
Strong black coffee forms the base which is traditionally brewed through a phin filter using Vietnamese Robusta beans. The coffee needs to be concentrated and flavourful enough to hold its own against the richness of the cream above it. A weak or watery base produces a drink that is simply sweet; the right base produces one that is complex.
Egg yolk is the defining ingredient. Raw egg yolks are whipped by hand or by hand mixer until pale and aerated, transforming from a dense liquid into something light enough to sit on the surface of a hot liquid without sinking. The yolk contributes richness, colour, and a faint savouriness that balances the sweetness of the condensed milk.
Condensed milk is whisked into the yolk during whipping, adding sweetness and body. It also stabilises the foam, helping it hold its texture long enough to drink through. Some recipes add a small amount of butter or cream cheese to further enrich and stabilise the mixture.
No artificial thickeners, no milk foam, no cream from a can, the texture of the topping is produced entirely by the physical transformation of the egg.
How to Make Egg Coffee
Making egg coffee at home requires three things: a phin filter (or any strong coffee), good-quality egg yolks, and patience with the whipping.
Step 1: Brew the coffee. Prepare a small, concentrated serve of black coffee using a phin filter and Vietnamese Robusta if possible. The volume should be modest from 60 to 80ml because the cream will occupy the upper portion of the cup.
Step 2: Whip the cream. Separate the egg yolks from the whites. For one cup, two yolks is standard. Add condensed milk approximately one tablespoon per yolk and whisk vigorously by hand or with a hand mixer until the mixture roughly triples in volume and becomes pale, thick, and airy. The mixture is ready when it holds a soft peak and no longer looks liquid.
Step 3: Assemble. Pour the brewed coffee into a warmed cup. Spoon or pour the whipped egg cream gently over the surface. It should float rather than sink. For the hot version, place the cup in a shallow bowl of warm water before serving to maintain temperature.
Step 4: Have a sip immediately without stirring. The drink is designed to be consumed as two distinct layers experienced together in each sip, not blended into one.
Where to Find Egg Coffee in Paris
If you are searching for egg coffee in Paris, it is worth finding a place that approaches the drink with some understanding of where it comes from. At Cộng Cà Phê Paris, located at 18 Rue Volney, egg coffee sits naturally within a broader Vietnamese coffee tradition.
Order a cup, take your time, and see why this unusual-sounding drink continues to surprise people long after the first sip. And if one coffee is not enough, pairing it with a Vietnamese banh mi or trying another signature drink such as cà phê cốt dừa often makes for a fuller introduction to Vietnamese café culture in Paris.
For many visitors, the appeal of Cộng goes beyond the coffee itself. These reviews offer a closer look at what guests have enjoyed about the overall experience at Cộng Cà Phê Paris.
“… The salted egg cream coffee had a nice texture. I really liked the interior and friendly staff 🙏” – Hyn N, Google Map
“This place brought me home! Stepped inside and immediately felt like I was in Hanoi again. The drinks were absolutely delicious and authentic and the service was top notch. My husband got so excited he ordered 6 drinks in total😂” Rosie Mai, Google Map
“Très bon café vietnamien ! Si difficile à trouver à Paris !” – Clotilde Féraud, Google Map
Discover the full Vietnamese signature coffee menu at Cộng Cà Phê France, 18 Rue Volney, 75001 Paris.
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