Dalgona Coffee

Coffee trend 2020

There is a new coffee trend that is conquering the world currently from South Korea via TikTok, Youtube and Instagram.

Origin

Dalgona coffee is not a new coffee speciality. It originated in India as Phenti Hui – whipped/ beaten coffee and is also called Indian cappuccino. For preparation you mix 2 – 3 tbsp of instant coffee together with 2 – 3 tbsp of sugar and 1 tbsp of cold water and whip it until it gets creamy and fluffy. Then you put some coffee foam in a glass, fill it with cold or hot milk and stir the coffee. As topping you can add another tbsp of coffee foam.

How the coffee specialty went viral

Jung Il-woo, a South Korean actor, visited a restaurant in Macau where he was served a drink that reminded him of Dalgona. Dalgona(달고나) or ppopgi (뽑기) was a popular street snack made from melted sugar and baking powder in the 1970s and 1980s.

In January 2020, the actor presented the coffee on the South Korean TV show “Stars’ Top Recipe at Fun-Restaurant” (“신상 출시 편 스토 랑”). Under the hashtag #dalgonacoffeechallenge, the DIY versions of Dalgona coffee first spread on South Korean YouTube channels before they went viral on TikTok and the specialty coffee has now found fans around the world.

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☕ Preparation

• 2 tbsp instant coffee
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp hot water
• 250 ml milk

Whisk coffee powder, sugar and water creamy and fluffy – the easiest way is using a hand mixer. Then pour hot milk or cold milk on ice cubes into a glass and layer the creamy coffee foam on top. Finally, decorate with coffee or cocoa powder or crumbled biscuits.

The coffee looks amazing – just in terms of taste, it doesn’t convince me, especially in the original version with instant coffee. Unfortunately I have not yet found the right recipe to replace the instant coffee e. g. with espresso. If you have good tips and recipes, I look forward to your comments.

☕ Preparation with espresso

• 100 ml espresso or strong coffee
• 50 g of cane sugar
• 1 egg white (room temperature)
• 1/8 tsp lemon juice
• 250 ml milk

For the coffee syrup heat 50 ml of coffee with sugar in a pan until the sugar begins to crystallize (approx. 10 min). Beat the egg white with lemon juice until stiff, then add the coffee syrup and continue beating. Then pour hot milk or cold milk on ice cubes into a glass and layer the creamy coffee foam on top. For more coffee aroma, pour the rest of the coffee over it.

BTW, I’m looking also forward to your versions of the trend beverage. Please post your version on Instagram and tag me.