Salt coffee started in Huế, but Đà Nẵng is where it became a habit

Over the past few years, almost every café in Da Nang has salt coffee on their menu. Many customers think it's a Da Nang specialty, but this drink actually originated in Hue before spreading here and becoming a fixture.

The recipe isn't complicated: strong drip coffee, with a layer of milk cream underneath mixed with a bit of salt. The salt doesn't make it salty — it takes off the harsh edge. The bitterness of dark-roasted coffee mellows when it meets the salt, and the richness of condensed milk feels less heavy too.

The right way to drink: don't stir right away. Take a few sips first when the two layers are still separate, so you can experience the transition between salty — creamy — bitter. If you stir it all from the beginning, it becomes a somewhat odd coffee milk, and you lose all the good stuff.

A few things about the coffee here in general:

• Vietnamese coffee is mostly robusta, strong and has more caffeine than arabica. People accustomed to Western coffee often get overwhelmed by the first cup — order a small cup first. • The phin takes time. A small phin takes 5–7 minutes. That's by design, not because the café is slow. • "Vietnamese coffee" is made with condensed milk by default, not fresh milk. If you want fresh milk, you need to ask for it specifically. Price: sidewalk food stalls 15–25 thousand, air-conditioned restaurants 35–60 thousand.

Some coffee shops in Da Nang on VietSpots are pinned below, including one that makes salt coffee.