Dalgona Coffee
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy for details.
Heard of Dalgona Coffee before? Dalgona Coffee is South Korea’s latest coffee trend. It also has been quickly making an online global trend on social media. The drink definitely looks fun and fancy, but do you know that the drink is actually made with ordinary instant coffee as the main ingredient?
As more people were social distancing at home because of the coronavirus champaign, many of us are caught on this light and easy coffee recipe. I have been seeing a lot of people on social media going on about Dalgona Coffee and I am pretty sure by now you have also been seeing a lot of people going on talking about this drink. I guess it got popular because you do not need much to make. All you need are five simple ingredients to transform your everyday cup of coffee into a cafe-worthy. You will most likely already have the ingredients in the cupboard, so let’s just get deeper into it.
About Dalgona Coffee
Dalgona Coffee, fluffy coffee, frothy coffee, whipped coffee, creamy coffee – whatever you want to call it. It is a latte drink that comes with a velvety smooth sweet coffee foam on top. The texture of the coffee foam is reminiscent of the popular Korean street food snack called Dalgona. Dalgona is a Korean candy made with melted sugar and baking soda. It is pretty similar to honeycomb toffee and tastes sugary with a light sponge-like texture inside.
All it takes to get this deliciously coffee foam is to whisk instant coffee granules, white granulated sugar, and hot water into 1:1:1 ratio. So, if I use 2 tablespoons of instant coffee for one cup of Dalgona Coffee, it means you need to add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons of hot water. Then, whisk the mixture with a whisk or a hand mixer to trap small air bubbles inside, creating a rich and sweet foam to put on your milk. That’s it, easy right?
Tips for Making Dalgona Coffee
Let me tell you some tips and tricks for making this foamy Dalgona Coffee.
1. Use pure instant coffee for the best result
Yes, it has to be pure instant coffee. When I first started trying this recipe, I used the 3-in-one instant coffee and terribly got disappointed because it resulted in a foamy, runny, super sweet coffee mixture. I thought that I just need to whip it longer, but I did not get that whipped texture after whisking with a hand mixer for 15 minutes. That was totally a big fail and I do not recommend anyone to make this recipe with 3-in-1 instant coffee. Fortunately, I had some stocks of free Nescafe pure instant coffee gotten from some hotels, so I had to make do with what I had in my pantry. And voila, it works instantly. If you are pretty sensitive to caffeine, decaf coffee also works too.
2. Do not skip the sugar
You need to add granulated sugar to create the fluffy whipped texture. It also makes the mixture stays fluffy for hours before it begins to slowly dissolve into liquid again. You can reduce the sugar, but bear in mind that your coffee foam will not be as fluffy. In summary, stick to the recipe if you want the ultimate fluffiness.
3. Use a hand-mixer
I highly recommend using a hand-mixer because doing it by hand will be a lot of work and take a longer time. It took me 2 minutes using a hand-mixer to create the beautiful cloud-like foam. Whipping the coffee mixture by hand takes 10 minutes the fastest and about 20 minutes the longest. The time needed definitely depends on how skilled you are, just like whipping a whipped cream or meringue by hand. If you are doing it by hand, I recommend using a whisk rather than a spoon because using a spoon takes a longer time.
More Drink Recipes
Are you looking for the perfect drink to energize you through the day? Check out these delicious drink recipes!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp pure instant coffee
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp hot water
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk
- ice cubes, optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combined instant coffee, granulated sugar, and hot water.
- With a whisk or a hand mixer, whisk the coffee mixture until fluffy and foamy. It takes 2-3 minutes by hand-mixer and 10-20 minutes by hand. Set aside.
- Pour ice cubes (optional) and milk into a cup. Drop the coffee foam with a spoon on top. Serve immediately.
