Weasel Coffee in Hanoi Vietnam

Hanoi Weasel Coffee

Trying the Weasel Coffee in Hanoi, Vietnam, is one of the most anticipated things I was looking forward to while visiting this wonderful country.

Over the years, I have heard so much about this unique, strange, and famous exclusive coffee; therefore, I yearned to try it at all costs.

Weasel Coffee in Hanoi Vietnam

So right before my trip to Hanoi in April 2010, I had Googled the coffee locations only to find out that originals and knockoffs were being sold.

Arriving in Hanoi after a fabulous trip to Halong Bay, I set foot on the streets of the Old Quarter and made my way in search of the famous Cafe Mai, where the Weasel Coffee was sold.

Coffee Beans from Civet Cat
Weasel Coffee Beans in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Thinking that the cafe would be easy to find around the Old Quarter of Hanoi, I was disappointed that no one seemed to know of this place.

Walking around aimlessly and asking locals every ten minutes, I replied with shakes of my head or simply ignored due to the language factor. Nevertheless, my journey continued with my google printout and town map in hand.

Grinding Weasel Coffee
Weasel Coffee in a grinding machine in Hanoi

Finally, after walking out of the Old Quarter and into an unknown area near a lake, a kind Vietnamese lady who spoke very little English showed me directions to the shop a couple of blocks down.

Eagerly walking in the hot afternoon, I accidentally passed the coffee outlet and wondered where it really was as there were a few other cafes along this street.

I finally made one more stop and asked one of them where the Cafe Mai was; the gentleman pointed to a few shops in the opposite direction without saying a word.

Hanoi Cafe Mai
Cafe Mai is one of the famous coffee shops in Hanoi.

Finally, I reached my Mecca of Coffee which was highly recommended by some local Vietnamese blog writers. This particular type of coffee is also known to the locals as Paris Mai and is noted to be the most expensive coffee in Vietnam.

So, what is Weasel Coffee? This exotic blend of coffee beans is eaten by the local civet cats, which are then passed through the digestive system. It is also known as Kopi Luwak or Civet Cat Coffee in other parts of the world.
"A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then defecated, keeping their shape.  
After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness, widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world." - From Wikipedia

 

Photo of Weasel Coffee
Weasel coffee after the process.

Having secured a place at the Cafe Mai, I sit at one of the small round tables just by the walkway. It was humid that day, so I ordered an iced cold coke.

A simple menu was given to me and glancing through it, there were apparently several coffee choices. Strangely there was no indication of Weasel Coffee on the menu, so I got a little worried and called the waitress over.

She did not speak much English, but when I asked about the Weasel Coffee, she looked confused and called the owner over, a Vietnamese lady in her mid-thirties who spoke basic English.

Finally, she understood what I described and told me it was called Paris Mai in Vietnam and without hesitation, I ordered two of them. One hot and one with ice.

Vietnamese Coffee in Hanoi
Vietnamese Coffee with Ice

When the coffee was served, it came in one of those small metal Vietnamese drip filters known locally as cà phê phin, where the freshly ground coffee is contained inside and hot water is poured into the device and then covered.

The filtering process can take up to five minutes before it is consumed. Condensed milk is also served and added to the bottom of the glass before you start your process. Once done, stir it all in and have your expensive cup of Vietnamese Weasel Coffee. 

I had ordered an iced one, so it was served already, and the two flavours were almost identical. For the coffee lovers, you would enjoy this hot as for me, I love to have iced cold coffee, and this was heaven for me.

Never before had I tried coffee that tasted so good. The closest comparison I had to this was some Lao Coffee in Luang Prabang, Laos.

Coffee Price in Hanoi Vietnam
Coffee Price in Hanoi, Vietnam.

After spending about an hour trying out three different coffees, it was time to take away some of the Weasel Coffee. A price board was seen with the various coffee grades and prices in kilograms.

Paris Mai costs 600,000 Vietnamese Dong per kilogram, which is about US$30.70, so this is really cheap, considering I was told that the Weasel Coffee can go up to hundreds of US dollars.

Apart from the exotic coffee being sold here, there were a variety of other blends. Some locals love to buy coffee fresh in 100-gram packets from these cafes.

They were seen arriving by cars and bikes to get freshly ground coffee from the special takeaway counter of Cafe Mai.

Vietnamese coffee types
Local Vietnamese coffee in tin storage.

Hanoi Cafe Mai
Cafe Mai in Hanoi.

I bought 500 grams of the Weasel Coffee from Hanoi in 100-gram packets each. They were for souvenirs for close friends, and the end result was - They all asked me when I was returning to Hanoi as they now wanted 1kg packets!

Address to Cafe Mai, Hanoi
52, Nguyên Hồng,
Du-Ha Noi,
Vietnam

Vietnamese Coffee Cafes in Hanoi

  • Dak-Linh Café - This lovely café is located on the southwest shore of Hoan Kiem Lake, entirely hidden in the trees. It’s probably the best place to start your morning: enjoy your coffee while watching people exercising in the park or doing Tai Chi.
  • Trung Nguyen Café - Among the many coffee varieties offered by this trendy café by the Hoan Kiem Lake, you will also find the famous weasel coffee here apart from the general strong coffee.
  • Café Nhan - The café is located in the heart of the nightlife area and is very popular among young locals. There are nice private nooks for those seeking intimacy and attractive balconies for those who like to do a bit of people-watching by night.
  • Hanoi’s Coffee Street - Hang Hanh (Coffee Street) is located in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. It’s a very popular location filled with cafes and everyone looking for their caffeine fix: businessmen on their way to work, backpackers reading the travel guides in search of new ideas and motorbikes drivers looking for clients.


The best experience is sitting on a low stool, enjoying coffee, and watching life pass. Again, check if you are getting the proper coffee from this area, as there have been reports of regular coffee being passed off as Weasel Coffee here.

You can also read my other articles on Hanoi and Vietnam, as I have written much about these places. They are written from 2012 to 2013, based on the time I explored this part of Indochina. 

And for a serious coffee traveller, I also tried the well-known and world-famous Kopi Luwak Coffee in Bali, Indonesia, in June 2011, which is quite similar.

Conclusion

The coffee culture is one of the local lifestyles here, as countless places sell them around the Old Quarter and Hanoi. I was staying at the Impressive Hotel in the Old Quarter area so moving around on foot was very easy.

From modern-day cafes to roadside squat-down stalls, they all taste perfect. In my honest opinion, the best are from some speciality stalls around the old quarter, where you get some excellent Weasel Coffee in Hanoi.

Malaysia Asia

Blogging since 2007, but writing online since 1997. I belong to the 1st generation of worldwide bloggers, which is of course old-school. Since 2008, I created Malaysia Asia and this travel, flood, gadget and lifestyle blog has won numerous physical awards from tourism boards around Malaysia. (Not those online awards). After 12 years of blogging, I have semi-retired and now blog about things I like, do product reviews and enjoy life. My work has been featured in Lonely Planet, CNN Travel, Yahoo Travel, Wall Street Journal, and many other international publications. Find out more about me and thank you.

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