Saigon Coffee, a beloved farmer’s market coffee stall in San Diego, is slow-brewing Vietnamese coffee following traditional customs at its North Park cafe at 3994 30th Street.
“We’re just so thankful that the community (is) so ive,” said co-founder, Tu Duong. “They (are) open minded to Vietnamese coffee and when they come in, we show them how we brew the coffee. Just looking at them enjoy how we’re making the coffee makes me feel really happy.”
After moving to San Diego from Vietnam in 2010, Duong longed for her mother’s slow-brewed coffee back home. To fill the void, she began making Vietnamese coffee for herself and her friends, later taking her coffee beverages to the Hillcrest and Poway farmer’s markets.
In 2013, when her brother and business partner, Vinh, ed her in San Diego, the pair began taking their family coffee business to the next level.
In July, they were able to open their first storefront in North Park.
Using coffee beans from Vietnam, the Duong siblings follow their mother’s original recipe for authentic Vietnamese coffee. The slow-drip process requires a phin filter or a brewing tool that combines a French press with a pour-over device. Their filter is about 50 times larger than regular phin filters and each batch takes about four hours to brew.
The bold coffee is then mixed with different ingredients, including condensed milk, to create unique beverages such as the Hainoi egg coffee with pasteurized eggs, and vegan coffee with condensed coconut milk and coconut creamer.
Bottled coffee beverages and coffee kits that include a phin filter and condensed milk are also sold at the cafe. Saigon Coffee is at the Hillcrest farmer’s market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays and at the Poway farmer’s market from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
Visit saigoncoffee.com and follow @saigoncoffee.co on Instagram.
Roxana Becerril is a freelance writer.
