07/05/2026
Cold Brew 🇻🇳
“Wandering the streets of Hoi An in search of brekky (for a very fussy teen, no less), we stumbled across another local café—and I spotted cold brew on the menu. 🧊
Even better, they were serving a Cold Brew with Lemonade. Naturally, I had to give it a go.
Back home at Zoi Espresso, our cold brew is built on single-origin Ethiopian beans—bright, complex, and with that signature clarity you expect from a well-extracted brew.
When I asked about the base here, they mentioned they use arabica beans, which tracks with the smoother, softer profile I tasted.
That said, this drink wasn’t what I expected.
Instead of the crisp, sparkling lift I had in mind, this version leaned much more mellow. There was little to no fizz, which makes me think the “lemonade” component here might be more of a still citrus mix rather than a carbonated one. The result was a very smooth, easy-drinking coffee with a subtle citrus edge—refreshing, but definitely more delicate than bold.
What this experience really highlighted is how adaptable coffee is across cultures. Even something as seemingly straightforward as a cold brew can shift depending on local taste, ingredients, and interpretation. Here, it feels less about punch and more about refreshment—something you can sip slowly while watching the world go by.“ 😌
-Ash
Zo’i Correspondent on the Unofficial (But Very Important) Vietnam Coffee Tour
