Dalgona Coffee: What it is, origin, and how to make Dalgona Coffee

Dalgona Coffee is trending everywhere on social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest are blustering with posts about this new phenomenon. There is no shortage of Youtube videos documenting the rapid rise of Dalgona Coffee to popularity or Dalgona Coffee recipes. So what is all the noise about?

What is Dalgona Coffee?

Dalgona Coffee is a beverage which gained up popularity on social media in 2020 during the COVID-19 lock-down. It is prepared by whipping equivalent parts of instant coffee, sugar and boiling hot water until it becomes a smooth textured frothy paste. This paste is then added on top of cold milk. It can also be finished off with a sprinkle of coffee powder, cocoa, cookie crumbs or where ever your creativity takes you.

Dalgona Coffee cannot be made with ground coffee beans as only instant coffee beats into the required thick and frothy paste. The instant coffee can be in the form of powder or granules.

Origin of Dalgona Coffee

The origin of Dalgona Coffee can be traced back to South Korea. Infact, the very first social media posts about Dalgona Coffee were in Korean. Dalgona Coffee is named after a Korean sugar sweet because of its resemblance in taste and appearance. The coining of the name "Dalgona Coffee" is credited to Jung Il-woo, a South Korean actor who first compared the taste with that of the dalgona sweet. Although some varieties include the real dalgona sweet, the original recipe does not.

The Perfect Dalgona Coffee Recipe

The perfect Dalgona Coffee recipe is the original Dalgona Coffee recipe. Once you master the original recipe, you can proceed to try variations from the millions posted online as a result of the social media craze; or even make your own variations.

We will be covering the original simple and easy Dalgona Coffee recipe in this post. The method described here is to prepare 1 serving, which is the equivalent of a standard 8 ounce mug. To make more than 1 serving, simply multiply the listed measurements per ingrediant - as well as mixing effort - by the number of servings.

Ingredients for Dalgona Coffee

• 2 Tablespoon instant coffee
• 2 Tablespoon sugar
• 2 Tablespoon boiling hot water
• 3 to 4 ice cubes

How to make Dalgona Coffee

Step 1: Combine the instant coffee and sugar in a bowl.

Step 2: Add the boiling hot water to the instant coffee and sugar combination. At the same time, start whipping/beating the mixture together into a paste. Continue beating until the texture of the paste becomes thick, fluffy and foamy.

This step can take a bit of time; about 1 to 2 minutes with an electric mixer or 3 to 5 minutes by hand.

Step 3: Put 3 or more ice cubes in to an 8oz mug and fill it about 3/4ths the way up with milk.

Step 4: Scoop the coffee paste and place it on top of the milk. Take care not to force it down to much. The Dalgona Coffee is ready to be served. Indulge!

Conclusion

Dalgona Coffee is a beverage which was popularized as a social media trend during the COVID-19 lock-down. It is made by whipping instant coffee, sugar and boiling hot water in equal parts until it turns into a smooth frothy paste which is then poured on top of hot or ice cold milk.

The origin of Dagona Coffee traces back to South Korea. It was discovered by a South Korean actor who likened the taste of it to a South Korean sugar sweet called dagona.

Since its popularity on social media, many people have posted their own attempts or even their own variations on social media.