Le'DRIP Coffee and Tea

Le'DRIP Coffee and Tea opened in Houston's Chinatown in October 2023, founded by sisters Emmy Le and Amy Le, who immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam in their early twenties. In an interview with Voyage Houston Magazine, the sisters explained that despite Houston's already-diverse coffee scene, the specific Vietnamese flavors they grew up with were mostly confined to full-service Vietnamese restaurants rather than available at a quick, casual cafe -- so they built Le'DRIP to close that gap, tucked into Dun Huang Plaza on Bellaire Boulevard in the heart of the neighborhood known as Asiatown or Chinatown.

The shop's defining choice is its brewing method: rather than the Arabica-based drip and espresso common at most American coffee shops, Le'DRIP exclusively uses Vietnamese Robusta beans brewed the traditional way through a metal phin filter. The company sources its beans and tea leaves directly from Vietnam, and builds its menu of condensed-milk coffee classics reworked with contemporary foams and fruit teas.

There is no alcohol anywhere on the menu -- every drink is coffee, tea, or fruit-refresher based. Standouts include the pandan bac siu (bac siu, the shop's lighter, milkier take on Vietnamese coffee, topped with airy pandan foam), a black sugar matcha latte, coconut coffee finished with ube cream cheese foam, and a fresh watermelon black tea. The cafe has grown enough since its 2023 opening to add a second, drive-thru location in Richmond, TX, west of Houston.