I recently tried out chocolate flavored Vietnamese coffee using a newly purchased Vietnamese coffee filter set which is also known as Phin Filter set.
I found that this medium roast Vietnamese gourmet blend has a good refreshing taste and I also liked its chocolate flavor.
I also use French Press coffee at my home and I find few similarities and quite a few differences between these two distinct coffee brewing methods.
Several coffee lovers are indeed searching for significant differences between these two coffee brewing techniques.
So, I thought I will write about my experiences and findings about these methods.
Therefore, today I will list out 7 unique differences between Vietnamese Coffee Filter vs French Press Coffee Maker.
Don’t miss out my conclusion in the end where I will tell you what is the best coffee brewing technique between the two.
Table of Contents
- 7 Basic Differences Between Vietnamese (Phin) Coffee Filter vs French Press Coffee Maker
- FAQ Related to the Use of Phin Filter and French Press Coffee Maker
- How to Use Vietnamese Coffee Filter or Phin Filter?
- Do You Use Filter with a French Press Coffee Maker?
- Can I Use French Press for Vietnamese Coffee?
- Is Phin Filter Coffee Best than The French Press Coffee?
- What is the Best Vietnamese Coffee to use for Phin Filter?
7 Basic Differences Between Vietnamese (Phin) Coffee Filter vs French Press Coffee Maker
| Vietnamese Phin Coffee Filter | French Press Coffee Maker |
| 1. Vietnamese coffee takes a bit longer (anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes) to brew as compared to French Press Coffee. | 1. French Press Coffee can be prepared in much less time (4 to 5 minutes at max) in comparison to Phin coffee maker. |
| 2. This coffee maker comes with a single stainless steel Phin coffee filter mechanism which is a very slow dripper that brews either hot or iced coffee pretty slowly. | 2. French Press coffee maker usually has a 3 to 4 layered stainless steel filter structure which helps to filter minute coffee grounds to produce full-bodied flavor. |
| 3. I think Phin coffee filter steel material is a bit inferior to our regular French Press coffee maker steel material. I felt that its durability and comfort level is much lesser than Mueller and Café Du Chateau French Press coffee makers. | 3. French Press coffee makers such as Café Du Chateau and Mueller French Press comes with premium level 304 grade stainless material which is rust and corrosion resistant. I felt that this steel material is very comfortable and durable as compared to Phin coffee filter steel. |
| 4. To prepare the best version of Vietnamese coffee, you usually need Robusta whole bean Vietnamese coffee blend along with condensed sweetened milk. | 4. To make the best type of French Press coffee, you primarily need uniform and coarsely ground whole coffee beans. You don’t need to add sweetened milk in it if you don’t want to. You can just drink the black coffee as it is. |
| 5. There are usually two types of filter inserts available in the Phin filter sets. One is screw in insert and other one is drop in insert. | 5. For most French press coffee makers, you will get one large glass or steel insert for steeping your coffee grounds. |
| 6. However, in the pricing department, Vietnamese coffee maker beats the French Press coffee makers. These filter sets come at really cheap price (anywhere from 10 to 30 bucks max) which is very affordable range for regular householders. | 6. As far as pricing is concerned, these French Press coffee makers are bit expensive as compared to cheap Phin filter sets. Their pricing usually starts from 20 bucks and regular price range is close to 35 bucks. |
| 7. This Phin filter set is really easy to wash with your hands. And you can place it in the dishwasher safely to quickly clean and wash on a regular basis. | 7. Cleaning your regular French press coffee makers is also easy but takes more time to wash and clean as compared to Phin coffee filter set due to higher number of accessories and parts. However, don’t wash them in your dishwasher if they have glass parts. If it is fully made from stainless steel, then its ok to clean them with your dishwasher. |
FAQ Related to the Use of Phin Filter and French Press Coffee Maker
How to Use Vietnamese Coffee Filter or Phin Filter?
Making Vietnamese coffee with the help of Phin filter is pretty easy and straightforward.
It will take around 10 to 15 minutes to brew your coffee in this method.
Things you will need:
1. Phin Filter Set
2. Regular coffee mug or a glass mug
3. Vietnamese Robusta Coffee
4. Ice cubes (if you want to make iced Vietnamese coffee)
5. Hot Water
6. Sweetened Condensed Milk
Coffee Making Procedure:
1. First thing you will need to do is get the Phin filter or Vietnamese coffee filter set from the market.
2. Then take your regular coffee mug for hot brewed coffee and a glass container for making iced Vietnamese coffee.
3. Now get sweetened condensed milk from the market and add some (add as per your liking and requirements) into the coffee mug prior to the coffee filtration.
4. And now you can place your newly bought Phin filter on top of the coffee mug or a glass mug.
5. After this, add 1-2 tablespoons of Vietnamese Robusta coffee into the Phin filter container.
6. Then place either screw-in insert or drop-in insert inside the filter and above the coffee grounds.
7. Press it slightly on the coffee grounds and now pour a little bit of boiling hot water on top of the insert.
8. Close the top lid and then wait for minimum 5 minutes to slowly brew the inside coffee.
9. After 5 minutes are over, you can pour more hot boiling water to fill up about ¾ of the Phin filter container.
10. Again, close the lid and allow next 5-10 minutes to drip the coffee slowly into your coffee mug.
11. Wait till the last drop of the coffee and then remove the top Phin filter container from the coffee mug.
12. Stir the mixture of the drip coffee and sweetened condensed milk inside your coffee mug properly.
Now your hot brewed Vietnamese coffee is ready to drink.
13. If you want iced Vietnamese coffee, then just add few ice cubes in this coffee.
And stir it well to make delicious tasting iced Phin filter coffee.
To understand this whole Vietnamese coffee making procedure, I recommend you to watch the following video.
Do You Use Filter with a French Press Coffee Maker?
Yes, you definitely need some kind of filter to make the best tasting French Press coffee at home.
You mainly need to use multi-layered stainless steel filter to properly brew French Press coffee.
According to this article from Aboveaveragecoffee.com, you can still use either a brown paper filter or white paper filter instead of metal filter for brewing this coffee.
However, you will have to cut it to the right size in order to appropriately filter out the coffee beans.
But according to my research, the best filter for a French Press coffee maker is stainless steel filter only.
So, don’t use paper filters for the same.
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Can I Use French Press for Vietnamese Coffee?
Yes, you can surely use French Press method to prepare Vietnamese coffee at home.
As per this article from Royalcupcoffee.com, you can certainly prepare Vietnamese iced coffee with the help of your French Press Coffee Maker.
For this, you will have to first grind your coffee beans to a medium level or coarse level.
Then add 1-2 tablespoons of ground coffee into your French Press coffee maker.
Press the metal filter above the coffee and now pour 2-3 cups of hot boiling water on this filter.
Steep this mixture for about 4-5 minutes and allow some time to brew the coffee properly.
In the meantime, you can add sweetened condensed milk in the glass mug.
Once the coffee is completely brewed, pour it inside the glass mug and then add few ice cubes to prepare iced Vietnamese coffee.
Is Phin Filter Coffee Best than The French Press Coffee?
Some people love the taste and flavor of French Press coffee while some do like the unique flavor and taste of Vietnamese coffee.
Vietnamese coffee or Phin filter coffee is somewhat sweeter and uses dark Robusta coffee beans.
It takes more time to brew as compared to French press coffee.
And you can make only one cup of coffee at a time with this method.
So, if you want a quick cup of coffee then ideally you should choose French Press coffee over Phin filter coffee.
Both have their pros and cons.
It all depends on your liking and moods.
If you ask my opinion, then I would somehow prefer to drink French Press coffee over Vietnamese coffee due to its quick turnaround time.
What is the Best Vietnamese Coffee to use for Phin Filter?
There are different flavors and fragrances available when it comes to comparing various types of Vietnamese coffee blends.
You will get medium roast and chocolate flavored Robusta as well as Arabica premium coffee blend in this category.
You will also find instant 3 in 1 blended Vietnamese coffee which includes the combination of non-dairy coffee creamer, sugar and coffee powder.
Another type that you will find online is Special 3-in-1 Instant Vietnamese Coffee.
This coffee contains unique blend of finely milled coffee beans and instant coffee powder.
There are few other blends available in the market too.
Out of all these versions, I liked the Vietnamese Whole Coffee Beans with Chocolate Overtones.
So, according my experience, the best Vietnamese coffee that you can use for making Phin filter coffee is the one that I have mentioned above.
References:
https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-make-french-press-coffee/
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/a-guide-to-vietnamese-coffee
https://www.gourmetsleuth.com/articles/detail/vietnamese-coffee-filter
https://aboveaveragecoffee.com/can-you-use-paper-filters-with-a-french-press-you-can-but-dont/