Vietnam has a very different coffee culture from coffee cultures in the West.
The coffee here is meant to be enjoyed slowly, similar to the French way of drinking. However, the French drink coffee before the workday begins. In Vietnam, people usually spend at least half an hour each time drinking coffee and they can drink it at any time of the day.
Vietnamese offices are more relaxed with a cup of filter coffee & Western coffee is in a hurry
In cafes, I noticed that the customers were mostly men. Time to order coffee, wait for the coffee to come out and then wait for the coffee to drip should take at least fifteen minutes.
Meanwhile, guests sit and smoke, read newspapers, think, or chat with each other and enjoy their free time. When the coffee was ready, they sipped like Scots on whiskey, then talked and smoked again.
When I asked a friend who the customers in the cafe were, she said it was the person who was working. Maybe they are self-employed or employed, but the good thing is that they can arrange time to sit and think over a cup of coffee.
Coffee break time between working hours in Vietnam is not strictly regulated. Working people can drink coffee at any time of the day, while unemployed people drink coffee all day.
Rarely do I see people here ordering takeaway coffee. Perhaps only women who are busy going to the office right away choose this drink. Women also seem to be less likely to sit and sip coffee in the shop. They seem to be too busy with work, or with family shopping.
Sometimes in fancy cafes, I meet women who sit and drink water. But it seems that they are not working people, but people with a lot of money and time.
In Vietnam, the coffee society seems to belong to men. In Western countries, coffee is not a time for socializing. A cup of coffee is a way to bring enthusiasm to work.
In Italy, my friends often stand for a quick shot of espresso before diving into work. They don't have much time to sit and chat and sip.
(Collect)
