Vroom! Vroom! Vietnamese Whole Bean Coffee

NOTE: The Best Used By Date of Vrrom! Vroom! Vietnamese Whole Bean Coffee is 6/24/25, though the coffee can be enjoyed well past that date. Reluctant Trading has always been about discovery and falling in love. I try a lot of stuff that I like. But “like” is not enough to be a Reluctant Trading product. To bring something into the shop, I have to love it.Well, I’m in love again. I discovered this spectacular Vietnamese coffee by way of Thu Pham, the superwoman behind Càphê, Philadelphia's only Vietnamese roastery. Thu roasts a ridiculously delicious blend of robusta and arabica beans from Vietnam and Thailand. (These are whole beans, so you’ll need a grinder.)First things first. Authentic Vietnamese coffee isn’t brewed in a drip maker. If you do that, it will not taste good and people will call you names. You don’t want that. So you’ll need a Vietnamese coffee filter (a phin) and sweetened condensed milk. You can check out this post which includes directions.The magic of Vroom! Vroom! takes place when you combine the super dark chocolatey coffee with the thick, gooey, sweetened condensed milk. It’s definitely 1 + 1 = 3.  Thu roasts the beans to perfection - super duper dark and smoky. The aroma you get from just grinding the beans can make your knees knock.The brew is terrific as iced coffee on a hot day or hot coffee on a cold one. Why did I name it Vroom! Vroom!? The coffee has enough caffeine to rev your engine for hours. And the name reminded me of all the motorbikes flying around the streets of Vietnam during my last visit.