HOW TO MAKE DALGONA COFFEE
With over 226k posts under the #dalgonacoffee hashtag (as of April 2020), the Dalgona Coffee trend is giving coffee lovers everywhere the opportunity to keep their coffee game strong during the Coronavirus Quarantine. If you’ve been frequenting Instagram, Tik Tok or any other social media platform, you’ve likely stumbled upon someone recreating this trendy Dalgona Coffee recipe at home. I couldn’t seem to get on board with Tiger King and I most definitely have not learned how to make sourdough bread yet, but a viral coffee recipe — you already know I’m in!
What In The World Is Dalgona Coffee?
It’s a creamy iced coffee concoction made with a 1:1:1 ratio of instant coffee granules, sugar and hot water that come together to form a marshmallowy, cloud-like foam that sits atop cold milk! AKA: the stuff iced coffee dreams are made of.
How Did It Go Viral?
Dalgona Coffee began trending in South Korea in February 2020 while locals stayed home to practice social distancing amidst the country’s COVID-19 outbreak. People started sharing DIY recipes from home and none have been more popular than this incredibly simple Dalgona Coffee recipe. By mid-March, it was officially viral in the United States and my Instagram feed was full of drool-worthy photos & videos of this refreshing iced coffee beverage.
If you’re missing your favorite local coffee shops during the pandemic like I am, Dalgona Coffee will certainly hit the spot — I know I’ll be making it again and again as we head into the summer months!
Thankfully, this sweet and satisfying whipped coffee is easy to make and only consists of 3 ingredients that you probably already have at home.
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons instant coffee granules
3 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons hot water
4-6 ice cubes
1 cup milk (non-dairy alternatives work great!)
Directions:
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the instant coffee, sugar and hot water until it thickens. You can either whisk it by hand (5-7+ minutes), or use an electric / stand mixer (2-3 minutes). Whisk away until it looks whipped & creamy — you will notice stiff peaks have formed at the tip of your whisk
Fill your glass with the ice cubes
Add the milk
Drop spoonfuls of the dalgona coffee cream on top of the milk & ice
Optional: Sprinkle chocolate shavings, cocoa powder or cinnamon on top!
Stir & Sip!
Recipe Notes:
No other type of ground coffee will work for this recipe — you must use instant coffee granules
For the sugar, you can adjust the ratio and add half the amount of sugar if you’d like it less sweet
Make sure your water is piping hot! I boiled my water and let it sit for a minute before adding it in
For the ice cubes: I decided to be extra and create my own coffee ice cubes at home. If you want to recreate this, all you need to do is make coffee, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it — voila!
For the milk, you can use any type of milk substitute — I’ve used almond milk & oat milk, since that’s what I always have on hand. You can also adjust the ratio to add as much or as little milk as you’d like, but I found 3/4 cup to be the perfect amount since I like my coffee on the stronger side