Vietnam stirs US coffee aficionado into action

HANOI - For Will Frith, born in the United States to a US father and Vietnamese mother, a visit to Vietnam in 2004 ignited a passion for coffee that would change his life.

His mission on that first trip was to see his grandmother. But along the way, he had the chance to experience the Vietnamese coffee culture, "sitting in the small plastic stool, watching the world go by while slowly sipping the ca phe da (iced coffee)", he recalls.

He describes the now-familiar flavor as "nutty chocolate and caramel ice cream with a bitter aftertaste".