Earlier in the week I posted a blog pointing out that special occasions are often marked by the consumption of specialty alcoholic drinks, the rare wine for dates and anniversaries, champagne for celebrations, or the high end cocktail to set the mood. Used as devices to set apart an event from the ordinary, it is a shame that most people have a hard time thinking up alternatives to alcohol- so I thought I might share a few of my favorite “special” non alcoholic beverages.
Last week’s Thai Tea, one of my personal favorites, is certainly unique and will definitely raise an eyebrow or two- but for me its strong flavor makes it more of a dinner time quaff. I suggest trying ca phe sua da, Vietnamese ice coffee, for the more informal get together or when treating yourself to a little alone time.
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A few specialty items are needed for the authentic taste and Vietnamese cafe experience including a coffee filter set and Vietnamese coffee (a special blend). You can buy both at your local Asian food store or here at ImportFood.com which I have found to be a reliable online vendor. The only other ingredient you need is sweetened condensed milk, use a good brand though- it does make a difference.
Start by filling a small drink glass up about 1/3 way with the condensed milk according to taste. Then add coffee to into the filter set, about enough to leave just a few threads exposed and the screw down the top press snugly. Now place the filter set on top of the glass with condensed milk and add just enough boiling water to saturate the coffee, wait about thirty seconds, and then unscrew the press about one turn and fill the rest of the way up with more boiling water and place on the top.
In restaurants they will bring you out the filter set already primed and a glass of ice. I would rather wait until the coffee has almost finished filtering through to avoid the ice melting and diluting the drink, and prefer using crushed ice to cubes. Once the coffee has filtered through, admire your handiwork for a moment noticing the great contrast of both color and taste, then mix them up and pour them over the ice. Absolutely wonderful! The picture above is my own set up, my sweet late night reward for writing this post. It’s a great non-alcoholic way to make the day special, I hope you will give it a try!
