Vietnamese Coffee Filter & Press: Phin Filter

Coffee is very important to the Vietnamese, both from the standpoint of economics and of consumption. French involvement in Vietnam in the 1800s saw the French develop coffee production and the introduction of coffee plantations as a part of that development in what became known as "French Indochina," formed from the constituent parts of Vietnam. After much turmoil from wars and occupation, independent Vietnam's coffee production rebounded and the country is a major exporter of coffee to the world. A part of the Vietnamese coffee culture is the simple, single-serving coffee filter and press. These small devices have become much easier to find in the United States, and I'm sure, elsewhere. They are inexpensive, made of stainless steel, easy to use and, perhaps best of all, easy to clean. There is no paper filter used. 

 

In the top left part of the first photo below is the tray/filter. It has small perforations which will allow the coffee to drip into your cup. You simply set this tray on top of your cup. I said "cup," not a large cup or a mug. These coffee filters make about 6 ounces of coffee and that's it! To the top right is the container for the hot water and the ground coffee. It sits right inside tray/filter and it too has small perforations in the bottom, as well as a small threaded stem projecting from the bottom. Below that, in the lower right corner is the press insert. It is a round disc with a stem extending from the middle, and yes, it has perforations too. It screws onto the stem on the bottom of the water container. Finally there is the lid... no perforations! It just sits right on top, it doesn't fasten on. This holds in the steam and heat.

 

To make a (small) cup of coffee, you set the filter tray onto the top of your cup, then put the water container on top of the tray/filter.* Add finely ground coffee (a tablespoon or so) to the bottom of the water container. Screw on the press insert so that it firmly packs in the coffee grounds, but don't overdo it. If you make it too tight, the water will not flow properly, as for one thing, the coffee grounds will expand somewhat when wet. I usually tighten it pretty well, but then loosen the press just a little. Heat some water to near boiling (I let it begin to boil, then remove it from the heat for about 20 or 30 seconds). Add just a little water (about an ounce) to the water container/chamber and let it begin to seep into the pressed coffee to soak the grounds. After about 30 to 40 seconds add water until the chamber is filled. Put the lid on and let the coffee brew and drip into your cup. To clean, just rinse everything under some running water and dry with a towel. The coffee grounds will simply run right down the drain.   

* The Vietnamese typically add some sweetened condensed milk to their cup or glass first, and the coffee then mixes with the milk as it drips into the cup. Since the condensed milk is sweetened, it counters some of the bitterness of the coffee.

WORD HISTORY:

Habit-This word has a number of relatives, although most are distant relatives via Indo European; for instance, it is distantly related to "prohibit" (hold back, hinder, prevent), a word English borrowed from Latin, and to "give," a word from the Germanic roots of English.^ "Habit" goes back to Indo European "ghebh/ghabh," which meant, "to take," likely also, "to hold," but also "to give," in the sense of offering something that is "taken by another." This gave Latin the verb "habere," meaning, "to hold, to have, to possess," and a number of other meanings. Its participle form, "habitus," was also used as a noun meaning, "state or condition, emotional condition, physical condition, manner of dress;" thus also, "clothing." It was taken into Latin-based Old French as "(h)abit" (sometimes with the 'h,' sometimes without), and meaning, "clothing," including often, "common religious clothing." English borrowed the word in the 1200s as "abit," meaning, "clothing," including the "religious clothing" meaning. The Latin word "habitus" also exerted meaning influence on the English word, with the idea of "physical or emotional state or condition" taken from Latin. The idea of "customary religious clothing" provided the basis that expanded the word's meaning to "activities done repeatedly or in a customary way;" thus also later (late 1800s), "to take or be dependent upon drugs." The "religious clothing" meaning is still around today, but it is only used for nuns and sometimes monks, although it also is used about a woman's horseback riding apparel, "a riding habit"). Latin influence also brought about the addition of the beginning 'h' (to French also). The verb form, no longer common in English, traces from Latin "habere" (see above) to the derived form "habitare," meaning, "to live or dwell, to stay in a place." This gave Old French "(h)abiter," meaning, "to dwell, to reside." English borrowed the word as the verb "habit" in the middle of the 1300s with the "dwell" meaning, but added the meaning "to clothe" in reference to the already borrowed noun "habit" ("clothing").         

 

^ While "habit" bears similarity to "have" in appearance and underlying meaning, "have" is not related, as it comes from a different source. It is a word from the Germanic roots of English.