The “Top 100 Asian Beverages” list was compiled from over 12,000 ratings, of which about 7,800 were verified as legitimate.
Coming in at number 10, Vietnamese iced coffee blends coffee, condensed milk, and ice into one of the country’s most recognizable drinks.
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A cup of iced coffee with condensed milk in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by Di Vy |
It is brewed with robusta beans, using a filter that lets the coffee drip into the cup below. The coffee is then poured over ice and mixed with condensed milk.
Vietnamese coffee, ranking 18th in the list, holds a central place in daily local life.
First introduced by French colonialists in the mid-19th century, Vietnam is now a top global producer and the leading exporter of Robusta beans. A slow roast gives it a strong flavor and thick texture.
Egg coffee, ranked 35th, combines filter-brewed coffee with egg yolk and condensed milk whisked into a foam. It originated in the 1950s during the French Indochina War when a Hanoi barista, Nguyen Van Giang, used eggs to compensate for the lack of milk supply.
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Egg coffee features thick yellow foam. Photo by Read/Quynh Mai |
His creation inspired Giang Cafe, which is still run by his family in Hanoi today.
Further down the list at number 69 is lotus tea. Created during the rule of King Tu Duc by placing green tea inside lotus blossoms overnight, it is now made by infusing tea leaves with lotus stamens.
When brewed, the tea is amber-colored with a clean taste and vanilla notes. It is often served at festivals and ceremonies, with the best varieties coming from Hanoi’s West Lake.
India dominates the list: Mango lassi, a yogurt-based drink is number one, masala chai or spiced black tea with milk ranks second, and meethi lassi, a yogurt drink flavored with fruit, saffron, or cardamom, is third.