I would be remiss not to talk about coffee after my Vietnam trip. However, I thought instead of telling you what are the good coffees that I have experienced from my trip, I thought I would associate this with @elizacheng's makemesmile contest. Each coffee that I will present to you today is a story in its own right and they make me happy throughout the duration of my one week travel to Vietnam.

The Espressnicano

There are not many flights from where I live to Danang, Vietnam. As such, I had to wake up at 3am in the morning to catch a taxi to the airport for my 5am flight. I was tired, groggy and angry. Angry that there were so many limited flights and angry that I could not teleport all the way to Danang.

The dark thoughts subsided after I brewed the first cup of the day. My very own Espressnicano. 2 shots of Espresso with some water. Unlike an Americano where more water is added I like mine with less water just to taste the flavors in my mouth. Plus, I need the extra burst of energy to make my way from the front door of the airport to the boarding gate.

The Espressnicano

Getting Lost In The Suburbs

When I finally arrived at Danang, my coffee gauge was low. I started to feel the effects of my tiredness. Like a slow crescendo to a Calvin Harris song, the headache started to slowly build up. I started to wander the area near my hotel. IT was a suburb and there were not many shops around. I walked around hoping to find a cafe. Google Maps was hopeless as the nearest cafe was at least a kilometer away.

I did not think that I would last that long. As the headache started to rear its ugly head. I came across a small sign with the magical words 'coffee' inscribed on it. As I opened the gate, it took me to a magical garden.

Ok, that's not exactly very magical, but when you need coffee, any garden with coffee in it is magical. The waitress nor the menu spoke English. So I said 'coffee?' She nodded and walked away. Moments later, she returned with a thick, concentrated, iced black coffee.

I don't like my coffee sweet. I think sugar in coffee is a crime. However, there was a balance between the bitterness and the sweetness. To describe how the coffee tasted, you will need to take your normal amount of grounded coffee, double the amount and brew it with way less water. Now add some sugar and you have that iced black coffee pictured above. This made me smile because the moment I finished my cup, my headache disappeared.

**The Local Version of Starbucks **

I love discovering the local coffee culture. I was looking to buy some coffee beans home to experiment with. So I swung by the local version of Starbucks called Highlands coffee.

Personally, I don't know if its the concentrated and sweet coffee that I have been having for the past few days, but I found the Americano to be rather light. It was surprisingly similar to an Americano at Starbucks though, so if that's your cup of tea (or coffee), I'm sure you'll enjoy Highlands coffee too. That being said, it made me smile because it was my only cup of Americano after a long time.

Conclusion

Despite being in a foreign land with people who do not speak my language, I found the coffee culture unique. I hope I don't sound like a drug addict by saying this, but what made me smile was that despite the long walks, the work and the challenges faced, I love that I still had coffee to put a smile on my face.

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