A print of coffee dripping through a steel phin filter set on a glass, on a white saucer with two slices of lemon: the filter and the saucer's shadow in ochre, the coffee in clay brown, all in black line. — A phin on the glassOchre, Lake jade, River clay, key blockHà NộiLine drawn by FLUX.2 [klein] 4B, an image model, after a photograph by Andy Li, Photograph by Andy Li, CC0. Cropped for this site.

A photograph of coffee dripping through a steel phin filter set on a glass, on a white saucer with two slices of lemon: the filter and the saucer's shadow in ochre, the coffee in clay brown, all in black line. — A phin on the glassOchre, Lake jade, River clay, key blockHà NộiLine drawn by FLUX.2 [klein] 4B, an image model, after a photograph by Andy Li, Photograph by Andy Li, CC0. Cropped for this site.

In the city

Coffee, five ways

Phin, egg, coconut, yoghurt, and a roaster.

Length: 2.5 hours
Starts: 09:00
Group: Up to 8
From: USD 35 a guest

What happens

Phin, egg, coconut, yoghurt, and a roaster. Five small cups in five places, all within a short walk, with someone who can tell you why each is made the way it is.

09:00
We meet by the lake and start with a phin: a steel filter that drips coffee into a glass, slowly enough to talk over.
09:40
Egg coffee, whipped yolk and sugar on top of the coffee, served in a small cup.
10:15
Coconut coffee, sweeter and cold.
10:45
Yoghurt coffee, which is sharper than it sounds.
11:15
A roaster, where the beans are weighed in front of you, and a last cup, black.

Included: Five small coffees; Water between each; A guide for up to eight guests.

What you will see

Photographs, graded to look like one shoot. Select one to see it larger, with its credit.

Good to know

What to wear

Anything. We sit more than we walk.

Walking

About 2 km, flat.

Children

Coffee is the point, so we order juice or hot chocolate for children.

Access

Some stops are upstairs. Tell us and we will choose a ground-floor route.

The weather, by season

Xuân February to April: highs 22 to 29°C, about 53 mm of rain a month.
Hạ May to August: highs 33 to 35°C, about 239 mm of rain a month.
Thu September to November: highs 27 to 32°C, about 148 mm of rain a month.
Đông December and January: highs 20 to 21°C, about 20 mm of rain a month.

Láng station normals, 1991 to 2020. The four seasons

Where we meet

The east bank of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, on Đinh Tiên Hoàng Street, by the entrance to the Ngọc Sơn temple bridge.

The first cup is within five minutes of here.

Open in Google Maps (new tab)Open in OpenStreetMap (new tab)

Hoàn Kiếm, east bank. We link to maps; we do not embed one.

Cancelling

Cancel up to 48 hours before the start for a full refund. Between 48 and 24 hours, half is refunded. Within 24 hours, nothing is, unless we cancel: then you are refunded in full, or moved to another day.

Sample terms. The cancellation policy

Questions

Is five cups too many?

The cups are small, and you can share one with a neighbour. There is water between each.

Why egg?

The story goes that in 1946 milk was short, and a bartender at a Hanoi hotel whipped egg yolk into the coffee instead. It rests on the family's own account.

Can I skip the caffeine?

Yes. Most stops also make a version without it, and your guide will order it.