Filter
Phin
The Vietnamese metal filter - no paper, no hurry, and a concentrate rather than a cup.
- Ratio
- 1:6 - 1:8
- Coffee
- 12-20 g
- Water
- 90-150 ml
- Water temp
- 91-96 °C
- Time
- 3:00-8:00
- Bloom
- 30-45s
- Grind
- Medium-coarse
A starting point - adjust to your beans.
Grind and press are two ends of the same dial, and the drip rate is what you actually set. Anything that drains in under three minutes comes out thin; anything that stalls past eight turns harsh and muddy. Sources run all the way from medium to coarse, so go by the dripping and not by the number on the mill.
Made differently elsewhere
Cà phê đen đá
The same brew, drunk black over roughly as much ice as the water it was made with. No source gives it a tighter ratio than the phin itself - what changes is that there is no condensed milk left to cover up a brewing mistake.
How to go about it
Warm the glass and the filter, put the grounds in, and shake them level.
Lay the press disc on top and let its own weight settle it. It is not a screw - tightening it down is what stalls the brew.
Wet the bed with a splash of water and let it swell before you fill the chamber.
Fill up, set the lid on, and leave it alone. The first drops should arrive within about two minutes.
Where these numbers come from
Coava Coffee, Sprudge, and Common café practice.