A Refreshing Pick Me Up Dessert For A Warm Summer Afternoon.

 Finally, the warm weather has hit Sonoma. After a long wet Winter and Spring, it's finally warm during the day and cool at night (good for the grapes). Nothing is better after a hot spicy Indian luncheon on the deck than a tall, cooling, Vietnamese Iced Coffee. Pair it with some fresh fruit, you've got heaven in a glass.
 I love the sound of ice cubes in a tall glass, the sound the long iced tea spoon makes is like little tinkling bells. No wonder this drink was thought up in a tropical climate. It's the perfect beverage to sit around with, making lazy conversation but then it has the added benefit of the three fun food groups, fat, sugar, and caffine!!
 There is enough buzz coming off of a glass of this stuff to power me through the rest of the afternoon through infinity and beyond. This is the original Red Bull.
  The little devices that sit on top of the tall glasses are Vietnamese coffee makers. We have a set of four of them and they can be found cheaply in any Chinatown shop. They're basically a small version of a French drip, and any ground espresso works great with them.

Here's what to do.
  In the top of each coffee maker place 2 Tbs of ground espresso coffee.
  Then in the words of the immortal Pat Hobby "Boil some water, lots of it!"
  Fetch 2 tall iced tea glasses. In the bottom of each glass place 2 Tbs of sweetened condensed milk.
  Fill each glass full of ice cubes
 When the water is boiling, pour it into the little coffee makers  and let it slowly drip through the ice into the layer of condensed milk below.

 When all the coffee has dripped though, remove the coffee maker from the top of the glass and stir the whole mixture well with a long iced tea spoon. It should look like this, and taste like slightly melted coffee ice cream. Yum!

  Sip slowly and enjoy.
  These drinks are one of the best and easiest desserts to serve on a summer day or evening. They're fast, fun to watch brew, filling and delicious. The only trick to them is limiting yourself to only one per day.