A small, no-frills café in Vietnam’s historical city of Hue is widely credited with inventing this now-popular beverage, which is made by adding sweetened condensed milk to a base of Vietnamese coffee, the article said. The mixture is topped with salted cream and it’s served hot or iced.

“This combination of condensed milk, salt and black coffee (creates a) creamy mixture that softens the bitterness of the coffee and balances the sweetness of the condensed milk,” CNN said, citing the cafe’s owners.

Even Starbucks’ branches in Vietnam have joined the salt coffee wave, launching their own version of salt coffee in May this year.

Vietnam, which primarily grows robusta beans, is the world’s second-largest exporter of coffee after Brazil. That salt coffee has become a common option on menus across Vietnam nowadays shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, CNN said.