Vietnamese Latte (Bạc xỉu đá / bạc xỉu nóng)

Learn how to make Vietnamese latte (bac xiu da/nong) at home with this easy recipe—sweet condensed milk, creamy fresh milk, and a shot of Vietnamese coffee for a smooth, café-style drink.

Bạc xỉu is a Vietnamese latte-style drink made with condensed milk, fresh milk, and a small shot of Vietnamese coffee. It’s sweet, creamy, and incredibly easy to drink. If you love the aroma of Vietnamese coffee but don’t want something as intense as cà phê đen (black coffee), bạc xỉu is the perfect middle ground.

This is my favorite Vietnamese coffee because I’m not great with strong caffeine. If I drink a straight Vietnamese black coffee without any milk or water, I’ll get coffee jitters fast. Bạc xỉu works for me because the coffee is just enough to wake me up, while the milk smooths everything out so I don’t feel over-caffeinated.

To make bac xiu at home, I built this recipe by watching and testing several tutorial clips online, then adjusting the ratios until it tasted like the version I order at Vietnamese coffee shops. Let’s try it!

The Story of Bạc xỉu, the Vietnamese Latte

If you’ve ever ordered bạc xỉu đá at a Vietnamese café and thought, “This is basically a latte”, you’re not wrong. Bạc xỉu is Vietnam’s milk-forward coffee: milk comes first, coffee comes second, and the result is soft, comforting, and super sip-able.

Many sources link the name bạc xỉu to an older Cantonese-Vietnamese phrase: bạc tẩy xỉu phé. It’s commonly explained as bạc (white), tẩy (glass), xỉu (a little), phé (coffee). The meaning is simple and straight-forward: a white glass with a little bit of coffee. It’s not meant to be bold like a black Vietnamese coffee (cà phê đen, cà phê phin). It’s meant to be pale, creamy, and gentle, closer to a Vietnamese latte than a strong brew.

Bạc xỉu is often associated with the Chinese community living in Saigon-Chợ Lớn hundreds years ago, where condensed milk drinks were already popular and café culture was thriving. Over time, this “white glass with a little coffee” became a familiar order for people who wanted the smell and comfort of coffee, but not the full caffeine punch. The long name gradually shortened in everyday speech, and bạc xỉu became the easy way to ask for it.

Today, you’ll see it everywhere, from old-school street cafés to modern coffee shops. Some places serve it extra milky with only a splash of coffee, while others make it closer to a standard latte. You might also see a different spelling on menus, like bạc sỉu, but it’s the same beloved drink. You can order it iced as bạc xỉu đá for a cool, dessert-like coffee, or hot as bạc xỉu nóng for a cozy morning cup.

Ingredients

This is the recipe for 1 glass of Vietnamese Bac Xiu:

• 20 ml condensed milk (sữa đặc)
• 20 ml whipping cream (optional)
• 100 ml unsweetened milk (sữa tươi không đường)
• 1 cup ice (for bạc xỉu đá)
• 30 ml black coffee (1 espresso shot or a strong phin brew)

How to make Vietnamese latte (Bạc xỉu đá / bạc xỉu nóng)

Step 1: Pour 20 ml condensed milk into your serving glass.

Step 2: Add 20 ml cold whipping cream. This is optional, but it makes the drink thicker and closer to the coffee shop style.

Step 3: Pour in 100 ml milk. Mix well with a spoon, or use a milk frother to create a light foam. For iced version, add ice now. For hot version, skip the ice. If you want it truly hot, warm the milk before mixing.

Step 4: Brew 30 ml strong coffee. Traditionally, this is done with Vietnamese phin coffee (cà phê phin), but a single espresso shot works really well too. Optional: lightly froth the coffee for a soft foam layer on top.

Step 5: Gently pour the coffee over the milk, slowly and ideally right into the center of the glass. You should see three layers: coffee foam on top, coffee in the middle, and milk at the bottom.

How to drink Bac Xiu

You can drink it as-is and enjoy the layers. Sip the coffee first, then let it blend into the sweet milky coffee underneath as you go. Or stir everything together with a spoon for a smooth, balanced Vietnamese latte flavor from the first sip to the last.

Tips for the perfect Vietnamese Bac Xiu

Want your Iced Bac Xiu to stay creamy and layered instead of turning watery, and your hot Bac Xiu to taste smooth instead of overly sweet? These quick tips will help you make a café-style Vietnamese latte every time.

• Keep the milk cold for bạc xỉu đá. Cold milk is thicker, so the hot coffee won’t instantly blend in and you’ll get cleaner layers.
• If you want a thicker, richer drink, increase the whipping cream and/or condensed milk. Just remember that extra condensed milk also makes it sweeter.
• Don’t over-froth the coffee. A little foam looks pretty, but too much foam can turn heavy and dominate the top layer.
• Choose your coffee beans based on how strong you want the drink. Classic bạc xỉu uses robusta, which makes the coffee darker, thicker, and higher in caffeine. For a lighter version, use a robusta-arabica blend or arabica only. Decaf ground coffee works too if you love the flavor but want less caffeine.
• Use whatever brewing tool you have. A phin is the classic method, but an espresso shot from a machine, or craft coffee, are fast and reliable shortcuts that still taste great in a Vietnamese latte.

Do you like this recipe? Brighten my day by rating the recipe and clicking the “save” button to have this recipe right on your Pinterest board. Also, let’s be friends on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok!

Other Coffee Recipes

• Vietnamese Coffee With Condensed Milk (Cà phê sữa)
• Vietnamese Salted Coffee (Cà phê muối)
• Vietnamese Egg Coffee (Cà phê trứng)
• Vietnamese Avocado Coffee (Cà phê bơ)
• Trending Dirty Coffee