Dalgona coffee

Dalgona coffee

10 min
A frothy, cold coffee drink is irresistible, and with our whipped dalgona coffee recipe, whipping up this delicious, popular coffee drink to serve friends and family is incredibly easy. You just need instant coffee, sugar, water, milk, ice cubes, and a bit of dark chocolate for a delectable, bittersweet garnish. Try out this easy recipe next time you feel like an invigorating treat, or you want to impress with something a little different than regular iced coffee.
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Instructions

  • Transfer the instant coffee, sugar, and boiling water to a bowl and use a hand mixer to whisk it for about 2 minutes – or until the foam is thick and creamy (the foam may also be whisked by hand, it will just take longer).
  • Pour the milk into two glasses and divide the foam evenly on top.
  • Garnish with chocolate and serve the iced dalgona coffee with a straw or spoon.
Enjoy!
Tips

If your hand mixer is out of commission and you do not feel like whisking the coffee foam by hand, you may also use a blender. You can even use a smaller individual blender like the one used for smoothies. Just make sure the machine can handle the boiling water, so you do not accidentally damage it.

Tips

You can also use a milk frother to turn instant coffee, water, and sugar into a fluffy foam. Due to the smaller motor, it may take a little longer than with a hand mixer or blender. Be patient and keep frothing until the foam begins to thicken and eventually becomes fluffy. Remember to use a big bowl as the hot liquid can make splashes and create a bit of a mess.

Tips

Whether you would like to serve the coffee drink hot or cold, the best milk for dalgona coffee is your favourite! Our recipe may be prepared with any kind of milk depending on your preferences and whether you would like it to lean towards rich with full cream milk or refreshing with skimmed milk.

Questions about dalgona coffee

With our easy dalgona coffee recipe, making delicious coffee drinks at home is hassle-free. Read on below to learn more about the deliciously refreshing South Korean beverage.

What is dalgona coffee?
Dalgona coffee is a South Korean coffee drink made by topping milk with a light-brown whipped coffee foam made from instant coffee, sugar, and hot water. The drink was popularised in 2020 when people began posting videos of themselves preparing the coffee house drink at home. The creamy beverage may be served either hot or cold by using respectively warm milk or cold milk poured over ice cubes.
How to make dalgona coffee?
Making dalgona coffee from scratch is quite easy and may be done in just 10 minutes. With a hand mixer, whisk instant coffee, sugar, and boiling water into a thick and frothy foam. Pour milk over ice cubes, top with whipped coffee foam, and garnish with a bit of good, dark chocolate. Enjoy the South Korean coffee immediately using a straw or spoon to mix the creamy foam with the cold milk.
What is the difference between dalgona coffee and cappuccino?
While both coffee drinks are known for their frothy foams, there are multiple differences between the two. Cappuccino is an espresso-based drink with steamed milk, and, as such, it features coffee with milky foam, whereas the South Korean drink has coffee foam and un-steamed milk. While both may be served either hot or cold, dalgona coffee is typically cold, while cappuccino is usually warm.
Can you make dalgona coffee in a blender?
You can use a blender when you follow this dalgona whipped coffee recipe. Both big and small blenders may be used – simply make sure that your appliance can handle the temperature of the boiling water to avoid any potential damage.

Ingredients

Dalgona coffee:
Instant coffee
2 tbsp
Sugar
2 tbsp
Boiling water
2 tbsp
Milk
4 dl
Ice cubes
4
Garnish:
Chopped dark chocolate (about 55% cocoa)

Creamy and soft dalgona coffee

Sometimes it can be hard to decide whether you feel like a cup of coffee or something sweet in the afternoon or after a meal. Fortunately, with a deliciously frothy dalgona coffee there is no need for it to be a question of either/or!

The iced drink features a light-brown coffee foam that looks quite beautiful against the snow-white milk. With its light and airy, yet creamy, texture, the foam is almost reminiscent of whipped cream. As such, this South Korean delight is a rich dessert-like coffee drink where instant coffee and sugar come together to create a tasty foam with plenty of complex, bittersweet coffee flavour.

The treat for which this beloved beverage is named is a type of South Korean candy made with melted sugar and baking soda. Though the sugar candy is not necessarily used to prepare this coffee drink, the dalgona coffee foam shares a likeness in colour as well as in taste due to the sweetness of the sugar. 

A South Korean dalgona coffee recipe calls for a few staple ingredients. Of course, there is no dalgona coffee without instant coffee or instant espresso if you would prefer a more intense coffee flavour in your beverage. The sugar, which is also used to create the delightful coffee foam, is needed as it thickens and stabilises the foam and ensures that it keeps its fluffy yet smooth texture and does not inflate.

Serve dalgona coffee hot or cold

This tasty, whipped coffee is versatile and may be served all year round as you can enjoy it both hot and cold. For a hot dalgona coffee, simply top warm milk rather than cold milk with the delicious foam. The sugary caffeine drink is delicious both warm and cold, depending on whether you need a cold, refreshing beverage or a warm, cosy one.

If you decide you prefer cold dalgona coffee, you might also be interested in making other iced coffee drinks like the Greek classic frappé or our iced latte.

Add your own touch

There are plenty of fun ways to experiment with our recipe for dalgona coffee. A perhaps obvious choice is to use a flavoured instant coffee. This way you can easily switch up the flavour profile of the drink by using varieties like French vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, chocolate, or even pumpkin spice. No matter the type, the whipped coffee will be creamy and frothy!

Rather than chocolate shavings, you might also like to try garnishing your dalgona iced coffee with a dusting of cocoa powder or seasonal spice favourites like cinnamon or drizzled with a homemade caramel sauce or chocolate sauce. Both of our recipes for these decadent sauces are easy to follow and may be tweaked to create, for instance, a salted caramel sauce or a flavourful, chilli-spiced chocolate sauce that may take your whipped dalgona coffee to new heights.

For a more adult twist, you can spike the milk with liqueurs like coffee-flavoured Kahlua, vanilla-flavoured Baileys Irish Cream, or orange-flavoured Cointreau to give this creamy coffee drink a bit of a kick.