Vietnamese Coffee Filter

Before I became pregnant I was a BIG time coffee drinker. I was the type of coffee drinker that had to have a few cups of the delicious elixir a day, the type that bought gadgets related to coffee drinking, I ground my own beans, was particular about where my coffee came from, and I could NOT function without at least 2 cups of coffee before I started my day. That behavior ended abruptly one weekend close to 9 months ago when I went cold turkey trying to force myself off the caffeine. One long, terrible weekend spent with an intense 3 day headache, a headache so bad I just wanted to roll over and die. I remember thinking at the time that I wouldn't make it without my precious caffeine, my morning jump start, and yet, here it is almost 9 months later and I've been functioning quite well on just one cup of decaf a day. I haven't even missed all the coffee I used to drink...until yesterday.

The Jan/Feb 2004 issue of Saveur magazine arrived in the mail. In part, the issue is dedicated to their yearly round-up of the top 100 food related things they (the writers and editors) liked in 2003, and while I can't relate to all their choices because I simply have not experienced them for myself, I can relate to one, number 68 on the list, Cà Phê a.ka. Vietnamese Coffee.

Dark, robust coffee is placed in the top part of a Vietnamese coffee filter, hot water is added and the coffee drips sloooowly down into a mug containing a few teaspoons of sweetened condensed milk, the result, a warm, strong, sweet, milky coffee nectar that is one of the most pleasurable ways to end a meal or satisfy a sweet craving I can think of. While I was sitting on the couch reading about the coffee and drooling, I suddenly remembered that tucked away in the far reaches of the CABINET OF FORGOTTEN GADGETS was my very own Vietnamese Coffee Filter! A purchase I made long ago in a Chinatown shop for less than $5.00. I had taken it home; od'ed on Cà Phê then threw it into the cabinet and forgot about it until now. Once this baby is born, I know what I'll be indulging in...

Written by Deb on January 6, 2004 12:01 AM