Coffee Lovers

Guide to coffee lovers: Where to find serious coffee in Hanoi

If you want to see how much Hanoi has changed in the last few years, don’t forget its coffee scene. It is not just growing. It is also growing up. In the years coffee first emerged as a serious business in Hanoi, people only stopped by old-time shops for high quality tastes. Traditional cafés in Old Quarter like Dinh, Giang, Lam… with its classic style and dark-wood furniture are now the most popular among tourists lured by its history. Until recently, the customers have started to demand more than just the quality of what’s inside the cup: nice view, cheerful staff, sophisticated décor, friendly ambience and good music. This, together with the influence of commercialisation, has

Kafeville Café (No.22 Nguyen Trung Truc)

Kafeville has an intimate coffeehouse feel. Wi-Fi, comfortable seats, a chessboard and books can invite daylong lounging in a small street in Old Quarter. The menu is mainly filled with different types of coffee, demonstrating the owner’s a single focus. Here the baristas are busier than ever – those who can offer a variety of brewing styles, ranging from Chemex, v60 to French press, Aero-press... and expertly pull out perfect shots by imported coffee from the likes of Papa New Guinea, Kenya or Rwanda… They also will be delighted to share the brewing techniques and explain to you how they’re operating machines.

For me, a reasonably unadventurous coffee drinker, it was sheer joy that had me driving for 30 minutes for a cup of Vietnamese filter coffee in Kafeville, not a spot packed with tourists. And it’s worth for a jump in

Drew Coffee (No. 58 Nguyen Huu Huan)

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” they say. Located in a street full of grand coffee shops, Drew may be a bit tiny, essentially a minuscule kitchen with a narrow space of about 10 stools. The menu, however, is definitely hefty. The drink (including egg coffee and coconut coffee) here isn’t just a replication of a familiar favourite. It is a lot more work, an improvement on something that most people didn’t think needed reinventing. It started off as a self-imposed challenge: the owner, an old South-origin man set out to create a version with his own recipe. “We are confident of our drinks,” he repeated.

And he’s right. My coffee (August) came out with rewarding depth and balance which can be said to be an acquired taste. Especially, Drew surprised me with the Vietnamese-style Affogato which I have never tasted before. Everything at Drew brings me a sense of passion, dedication and a simple love for Vietnamese-style coffee.

Prices ranging from 25,000VND to 35,000VND 5. Oriberry Café (No. 25 Xuan Dieu; No. 36 Au Trieu; No. 23-25 Dang Tien Dong)

Gone are the days when good-cause cafés meant a cup of coffee and biscuits sold in charity events. To turn a profit, they have to provide a caffeine which is good enough