Cà phê sữa đá is the Vietnamese coffee drink that combines strong coffee with sweetened condensed milk and is commonly served over ice.
The drink is prepared by slowly filtering coffee through a small metal phin. Sweetened condensed milk is placed in the glass first or mixed in afterward, and ice is added for the iced version. The result is intense, sweet and creamy, with a flavor profile shaped by both the coffee and the milk.
Condensed milk became particularly important because fresh milk was historically less readily available in Vietnam during the period when coffee culture developed. French colonial influence introduced coffee cultivation and café habits, while Vietnamese preparation developed its own distinctive style.
Cà phê sữa đá is different from cà phê trứng, which is topped with a whipped egg mixture. It is also different from cà phê đen đá, which is black iced coffee without condensed milk.