Be careful with Vietnamese coffee! It is really strong!

Vietnam has a few things that it is famous for and one of those things is their coffee that is grown here in the country. It is one of the most famous types in the world and I would be lying if I said that I have any idea why that is the case. I'm not a coffee snob and really can't taste the difference between one country's coffee and the next's. I'll just take the experts' word for it.

If you are here at any point though you will no doubt notice that coffee is available almost anywhere and it is quite cheap, especially if you buy it at one of the thousands of makeshift stall that are set up on the streets all over the place.

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In my own neighborhood there are dozens of places that look like this and they are all about the same. I'm not sure how the tiny chairs became a popular thing but I presume it is because they are easy to store and transport. Personally, I am not a fan of them because I have difficulty getting up out of the chair once I'm sitting. It always feels like I am going to crash into the pavement whenever I try to stand up. The locals do not seem to have this problem probably from a lifetime of doing exactly this.

All of these coffee stands serve essentially the same thing and "Cafe Sua" is one of the main ones that you will no doubt be offered while you are here. I'm here to tell you that you need to pace yourself with this stuff and I find it to be a bit dangerous.

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One thing you'll probably notice is that the cup or portion that you are served of this is quite small. I found it a bit irritating how small it was when I first got to this country because I come from a country where we drink weak and huge cups of coffee all day long. It was right after I drank a few of these that I figured out why they are so small though - it is because this coffee is exceptionally strong. I would say it is dangerously strong.

When I worked an office job back in the States we would sip on coffee all day long. It is just part of the office environment in that country. But people never ended up feeling all "jacked" because of it and this is because it was weak, perhaps by design. If you tried to drink Cafe Sua all day you would almost certainly have a heart attack.

When I drink one of these things I get a really fast burst of energy that I really can't say that I get from anything else that I consume. It kind of feels like it might actually be bad for you to have this much caffeine all at one time. Resist the urge to have more than one of these just because they are small or because you don't feel the burst of energy that you might be looking for right away. Trust me, the burst is coming and if you have two of them I think for me, I might end up feeling dizzy because of it.

Normally the coffee is served with a glass of really weak tea or a jug of water and you should make use of this to perhaps water down your coffee if you are like me and are not really prepared for how strong it is. They also stick a bunch of condensed milk in there because the coffee flavor is so strong and some would say overpoweringly bitter.

Regardless though, you should try this if you are visiting Vietnam. It is a really nice aspect of the country and it normally can be found for less than $1 at the local style coffeeshops. You are unlikely to get the authentic Vietnamese street coffee experience at the chains like Starbucks in this country so I would suggest just steering clear of those places altogether. Why would anyone pay $6 for a $1 coffee anyway?