The Blog
Serving Saigon Coffee to 450 Runners and Cyclist
Saigon Coffee served 450 thirsty bikers and runners at the Coronado Annual Ride and Stride. It was a fundraising event and over $100k was raised for needy causes like the Wounded Warrior Foundation. Boy were they happy to get the added boost!
Why this money grubbing CEO is afraid of Tu McKenna’s Saigon Coffee
You Money Grubbing, Penny Pinching, Horrible Coffee Making Man
He is the CEO of FrogWarts International Coffee. He came up with the slogan, “Put some FrogWarts in your Cup”. He counts his money every night and squeezes every last penny he can from his customers. Heck, he’ll even put his own kids to work late at night in sweat shops to squeeze every dime in profits he can.
He’s been known to rummage through garbage cans outside KFC for scraps of old chicken to feed employees at Christmas parties. But he drives a nice car. Yeah he drives a Lexis with Gold trim and skids out when he passes a rain puddle to drench nuns and priest as they walk down the street.
He is a money grubbing, penny pinching CEO and makes one horrible coffee.
There’s a new CEO of Coffee and it ain’t you Mr Cheap Face.
One of the reasons that you start a coffee brand is for fancy titles. So, we proudly announce the first woman CEO of Coffee – Tu McKenna. She has shattered the glass ceiling of your typical money grubbing male CEO. She is breaking all barriers down to just create the best iced coffee you can drink at the right price. On top of that, she donates 10% of all proceeds directly back to orphanages in Vietnam.
Goodbye old school CEO. Hello Tu McKenna of Saigon Coffee.
5 Genius Ways To Make Better Vietnamese Coffee (Or Any Coffee Actually)
You don’t have go to Italy or be a highly paid Barista to make an absolutely awesome cup of coffee for yourself. You just need to have a few ingeniously simple techniques on your side to help you amaze your friends and yourself.
We combed the entire country of Vietnam to find the tips and tricks that locals use to get the best Vietnamese Coffee (well, not actually the whole country).
Genius Simple Trick #1 (Level Albert Einstein) – Use Filtered Water
Coffee is 99% water. If you have crap tasting water, guess what? You’re going to have crap tasting coffee. At Saigon Coffee we start with the purest and freshest filtered water that just taste good. If you want a good cup of coffee use your favorite bottled water and watch the difference. It just might amaze you.
Use your favorite bottled water to brew your coffee
Genius Simple Trick #2 (Level Stephan W Hawking)- Add Pinch of Salt
Adding a teeny tiny pinch of salt into your coffee grind prior to brewing is the real deal. Its actually science and it makes the flavor of your coffee more intense. Salt will reduce the bitterness of the coffee as well allowing you to taste only the goodness and no bitter aftertaste.
Salt reduces bitterness in coffee
Genius Simple Trick #3 (Level Galileo Galilee) Use Hot as Hell Water, 200 degrees
Lukewarm water makes a blah cup of coffee. So boring. So tasteless. So not even worth it. At Saigon Coffee we keep our water temperature at exactly 200 degrees at all time because that is the perfect temperature to get the most out of your coffee beans.
So what happens when you are using a lame Mr Coffee Pot when you are staying at that cheap hotel? Run water through the coffee pot first to get the machine to heat up . When you run the actual coffee through it will taste so much better.
Genius Simple Trick #4 (Level Charles Darwin) Press and Drip your Coffee with A French Press or Phin
Old school Vietnamese Phin’s and French Presses might seem archaic but they do something that nobody has been able to replicate even with the fanciest machines. Pressing and slow dripping your coffee allows the water to chemically bind with the essential oils in the coffee which results in better flavor. Your Mr Coffee machine just floods water through the coffee grinds and gives you that “Gas Station” like quality cup of coffee. At Saigon Coffee we only use old school Phin’s because that makes our coffee taste really good.
The Vietnamese Coffee Filter is Genius and Simple
Genius Simple Trick #5 (Level Leonardo DaVinci) Fresh Roast + Fresh Grind + Fresh Brew
The 3 F’s of a great cup of coffee (Fresh Roast, Fresh Grind and Fresh Brew) Want better coffee? Do what we do. Get freshly roasted beans (check the date on the package or ask when they were roasted). Then fresh grind your coffee (if its over 7 days old grind it’s not up to our standard). And finally fresh brew your coffee after grinding. Why should you do these things? Because coffee like everything else dries out and gets stale. You don’t want a stale cup of coffee.
Happy Coffee Brewing all you Punky Brewsters out there.
Saigon Coffee – 3 Servings in Every Bottle
16 Oz Bottle – 3 Servings
How does one 16 ounce bottle of Saigon Coffee have 3 whole servings in it? Thats a great question and its simple – its so strong that people refer to it as “coffee concentrate”. You see what makes Vietnamese Coffee such a great Ice Coffee is that it doesn’t get all watery like most other ice coffees. If we were to make our coffee regular strength, by the time you took a sip it would taste watery. We’re totally not into that.
Share or be Selfish (Your Choice)
So go ahead and buy a bottle and share an Ice Coffee with three of your very best friends in the world. Or be selfish and drink it all in one sitting. Or perhaps you can save it for later – yeah like thats going to happen. Enjoy!
Black Coffee is one of Most Complex Drinks on Earth
Coffee is the second most valuable traded commodity in the world, right behind – Oil. This is a great documentary if you have a bit of time to watch it. You will certainly learn. We did, here at Saigon Coffee
Hello Little Saigon
Bonjour Little Saigon. Bonjour mon petite ami. It is so good to meet you! What is that you say? You are a full serving of Vietnamese Coffee? How is that possible? You are so petite? Oh do tell me more.
1 little bottle, 1 full-serving of Vietnamese Coffee
We’re happy to announce our 1 serving bottle that pours beautifully over a 16 oz cup of crushed ice. (actually it’s a wee bit more but whose really counting?). As we always say, you can drink it straight and soar through the stratosphere or sip it slowly over ice. Either way, we’re sure you will enjoy the rich, creamy taste of Saigon Coffee in this cute little bottle.
Available at HillCrest Farmers Market
If your itching to get your coffee buzz, you can see us over at the HillCrest Farmers Market every Sunday. We’ll be waiting for you with a ice-cold rich and creamy coffee!
Vietnam – The Simple Life
Simple is better. Life in Vietnam is simple. If you visit Vietnam, you can be taken back in time to a world similar to the way we lived here in the United States 100 years ago. A world not dictated by technology and progress, but by relationships and people.
The Vietnamese people like their coffee simple too. So much so that they have not changed the old-fashioned way they make it for over 100 years. The Vietnamese Coffee Press or “Phin” as it is called is a remarkably simple device. It does not require electricity. It doesn’t brew 30 cups an hour. It’s slow. But it arguably makes some of the best coffee in the world.
To brew a Vietnamese Coffee you put two tablespoons of semi coarsely ground coffee into the filter, push down the grinds and then set the filter on top of a glass with about 1 inch of sweetened condensed milk in it. You pour a bit of very hot water over the beans, wait a bit, pour a little more and wait a bit more until you have about 6 ounces of freshly brewed Vietnamese Coffee in your glass. It is pure heaven – and most importantly – its simple. Its true that simple things are the best things in life.
If you would like to get in touch, I can help you learn how to make great Vietnamese Coffee on your own. Send me a message at SaigonCoffee.co@gmail.com and I will give you some secret tips on how to make the best coffee you have ever tried!
5 Reasons Why Saigon Coffee Drove these Efficiency Consultants Crazy
Saigon Coffee is stuck in the dark ages – literally. Using old Vietnamese presses that rely only on gravity to brew coffee is so outdated and old school that these consultants thought they could do us a favor. But we literally drove them crazy. Here is 5 Reasons Why
The Process is Too Slow, they said
Get a fancy espresso machine they said. The coffee may not be as good, but who will really notice anyway. The ROI and production will go through the roof and we can guarantee a positive EBITDA prior to the end of the year they said. No thanks, we said.
Outsource To India, they said
We can cut your cost in half. Simply buy cheap beans, brew the coffee in India where labor is cheaper and ship the coffee in Barrels on slow boats. You’ll cut cost in half they said. No thanks, we said.
The Numbers Don’t Add Up, they said
You can’t use a blend of coffees. Use a single coffee. And use more water they said. At least half water. And make the bottles smaller. You’ll be minting money they said. No thanks, we said.
Fire Half your Staff, Double Your Price
Standard corporate consultant recommendation. No thanks, we said.
Add Preservatives and Freeze That Coffee You Idiots
You can’t be brewing fresh batches of coffee as they are needed. You need to brew in large batches, add preservatives and then freeze. Freeze it you idiots or we are out of here!, they said. “Goodbye”, we said.