The Dalgona coffee (also known as whipped coffee) is a frothy, hand-whipped drink which originates from Macau. The drink was supposedly created in 1997 by a former Macanese shipwright who originally named it the ‘Wai Ting Coffee’ and began serving it as a speciality at his café.

The ‘dalgona’ name came from a South Korean actor, Jung II-woo, who likened the sweet flavour of the drink to a dalgona, a type of Korean sweet. The Dalgona coffee drink became enormously popular after Jung II-woo appeared sampling the beverage on a TV programme. The trend of the #dalgonacoffeechallenge began gaining traction as Koreans, who were quarantining at home, attempted to make their own version.

The trend went viral and soon spread worldwide. You may recall seeing this beverage making the rounds on TikTok in 2020, when many of us were experimenting with recipes for the viral drink while stuck at home in lockdown.

Since then, this delicious drink continuous to be a popular choice for coffee-drinkers who may want to mix up their options when they’re feeling bored of their regular cappuccino or filter coffee.

If you’re wondering how to make a delicious Dalgona coffee at home, then keep reading.

Equipment

The good news is, the Dalgona coffee is super easy to whip up at home and doesn’t require any heavy-duty equipment or sophisticated coffee machines.

You will need:

A bowl
A kettle
Electric whisk or hand whisk
A saucepan and cooker
A heatproof glass or coffee cup

Of course, there is also an easy way to make Dalgona coffee with a machine, if you would like to use yours to make it.

Ingredients

The Dalgona coffee ingredients are simple enough and it’s likely you’ll already have all of these in your cupboards.

You will only need:

2 shots of instant coffee
2 tbsp sugar
200-250ml any milk of your choice

Preparation

The most well-known and simple method to make a Dalgona coffee uses instant coffee:

Step 1:Add the instant coffee, sugar and 2 tbsp of boiling water to a bowl and whisk for roughly 5 minutes until the mixture is thick and fluffy and beginning to form stiff peaks. If you’re using a hand whisk rather than an electric whisk, this may take a little longer.
Step 2: Heat your milk and pour into a heatproof glass
Step 3: Spoon the whipped coffee mixture on top of the milk, stir thoroughly and enjoy your Dalgona coffee!

To make a Dalgona coffee from espresso, simply substitute the instant coffee and boiling water for 2 shots of espresso and continue as instructed.

Tips and trix

Typically, the Dalgona coffee requires sugar in order to create the whipped, fluffy texture of the foam. However, for those who would prefer a slightly healthier drink, there is a way to make Dalgona coffee without sugar.

Sugar-free Dalgona Coffee

Sugar-free sweeteners, honey or maple syrup are great alternatives to sugar.

You can even try making the whipped coffee drink without any added sweetness, but may not stay as fluffy for long.

Dalgona Iced Coffee

The traditional Dalgona coffee is served warm, however, for an Dalgona iced coffee, add cold milk with a few ice cubes into a glass before topping with the whipped coffee mixture, and voila! You have a perfect cold coffee.