Little Hanoi Egg Coffee is known for its sweet, frothy egg coffee. (Photo: Justin Mott for The New York Times)

Introduced by French colonists in the 19th century, the country’s coffee crop is now a 3 billion USD business and accounts for nearly 15% of the global market for the valuable bean. This has made Vietnam the java giant of Southeast Asia, according to The New York Times. Many farmers have begun augmenting Vietnam’s longtime cultivation of cheaper, easy-to-grow Robusta beans with the connoisseurs’ favorite, Arabica, the paper said.

A major beneficiary has been the cafe scene in the country’s largest metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City. Thanks to direct crop-to-shop supplies, the retail business of coffee is booming as increasing numbers of independent roasteries and specialty coffeehouses sprout up around the city.

Café Cheo Leo, in a low-lying, off-the-radar pocket of District 3, is a favorite of locals who traditionally have their coffee with a thick dollop of sweetened condensed milk (Photo: Justin Mott for The New York Times)

Coming first on The New York Times’s suggested list is Café Cheo Leo, the oldest existing cafe in town, located on a small alley on Nguyen Thien Thuat Street in District 3. It is a favorite destination due to the exceptional flavor and caffeine wallop provided by most Robusta beans.

Other HCM City cafes on the list include Lacaph, a classy new coffeehouse in District 1; Little Hanoi Egg Coffee, a cafe offering Hanoi’s classic drink made with whipped egg yolks, condensed milk, sugar and vanilla flavoring; and Ca Phe Vot (net coffee), a small, garage-like space tucked away at 330/2 Phan Dinh Phung.