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 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 during lockdown.
Four years later, this delicious drink remains a popular choice for coffee-drinkers who may want to try something new when they’re feeling bored of their regular cappuccino or filter coffee.
Below, you will find how to make a delicious Dalgona coffee at home.
Dalgona coffee is easy to whip up at home and doesn’t necessarily require any heavy-duty equipment or sophisticated coffee machines.
You will need:
The recipe for Dalgona coffee only requires a few simple ingredients. To prepare one at home, you will need:
To make a Dalgona coffee from instant coffee, simply substitute the 2 shots of espresso with 2 tbsp of instant coffee and boiling water, and continue as instructed
Typically, the Dalgona coffee requires sugar to create its iconic 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 and maple syrup are great alternatives for sugar.
You can even make the whipped coffee drink without any sweetener - it will still whip up, but may not stay as fluffy for as 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.