The Dalgona Coffee Bandwagon

My First Glass of Dalgona Coffee   

Yes, I did! I jumped onto the Dalgona Coffee bandwagon! During the lockdown 1.0, Dalgona Coffee was heavily trending on social media. Now, I am not one for social media challenges but my sister tried it and said she loved it. 'Try it!', she barked at me for days until I caved in. Well, I do love a tall, cold glass of milky coffee on a hot summer day so I decided to give it a try. 

So, how do you make Dalgona Coffee? It's quite simple really. All you need is equal parts of instant coffee, powdered sugar and hot water. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with espresso. You have to combine the ingredients together and whip it till it becomes a light and fluffy cream. Pour yourself a glass of milk (dairy free is absolutely fine too. I have tried it with coconut milk) with some ice and top it off with the coffee cream. You may garnish with some chocolate shavings or a sprinkle of cocoa powder (I often did!). Now get your camera out and show off your hard work! Unfortunately, for all you freshly roasted coffee lovers, this only works with instant coffee. Just before you drink, incorporate the coffee cream into the milk with a spoon. Remember to take all the fancy photos before you do this! 

Instagram is full of people posting pics using the hashtag #DalgonaCoffee. What is it, you wonder?

Posted by The Times of India on Monday, 30 March 2020

On my first attempt, I followed a recommendation and used 2 tablespoons of coffee, sugar and water each. I don't have a electric whisk so I used the tiny spice grinder jar on my blender. Probably wasn't a great idea because quickly the mixture stuck to the walls of the jar and wasn't blending too well. With a little bit of water, I managed to make it work and hey presto! I had my first glass of Dalgona. I was so pleased that I even garnished it with some dark chocolate chips. It was so delicious! I am not a seasoned coffee drinker, I am quite new at this so 2 tablespoons was probably too much for me and I was bouncing off the walls. Thankfully, I had a manuscript to review for a friend and the coffee helped me get the job done.

Chocolate Dalgona Coffee

If I can add chocolate to something, know that I probably will. So for my second attempt, I used 1 tablespoon of instant coffee and used 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder instead. It would stop me bouncing off the walls and how can I possibly say no to chocolate? I ditched the blender jar as it wasn't a roaring success and I whipped out my hand held whisk. I was about to use some good old muscle power! Only I whisked and whisked till kingdom come and never really got to the same consistency as my first attempt. I gave up after almost an hour and just drank it anyway. It was mouth wateringly delicious but I had to take the pictures quickly before the cream sank into the milk. I needed a new plan. 

Using just 1 tablespoon of coffee along with 1 tablespoon each of sugar and water was attempt number three. I also figure out that using boiling water works best. Didn't take me too long to whisk manually, maybe around 5-7 minutes. Finally, I were getting somewhere! I also used a smaller glass of milk to prevent the taste from getting diluted. Yes, I'll say out loud, I was bored during the lockdown. 

My Favourite Chocolate Dalgona Coffee

Did I add some cocoa powder next? You guessed right! In fact, if I had just searched for 'chocolate dalgona coffee' on YouTube, I would have gotten there sooner. After whipping the coffee, sugar and water to form the cream (I used 1 tablespoon each), I mixed in 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder. Bliss! My experiments had finally come to an end and I had a favourite. I mostly stuck to this recipe and still do when I occasionally make this drink. 

I have heard some complains on social media about this technique of making coffee having existed much before the viral trends. Yes, they are right! Beating instant coffee and sugar together to make 'beaten coffee' or the 'Indian cappuccino' has been around for a very long time. My late aunt used to beat a whole batch of coffee and sugar together which was then stored in an airtight container in the fridge for delicious coffee whenever they had guests over. When would come over to ours for holidays, we wouldn't let her leave without making her 'special coffee' for us. She would spend ages whipping the mixture with just a teaspoon and the end result was divine! She would pour a cup of steaming hot milk over the mixture and to my child mind it was the creamiest, most delicious coffee ever. I say with a lump in my throat, I have never managed to get that exact taste when I have tried. Understandably, it is missing the element of love. 

Beaten Coffee

 Is it Worth the Hype?

 Well, in my opinion, dalgona coffee makes for pretty pictures but once you mix in the foam and drink it, it isn't any different to the milky, sweet cold coffee that we are very familiar with. In fact, I find the whipped mixture to be very sticky and difficult to mix into the milk. I also have to scrape down the bowl and the whisk with a little bit of milk because I am paranoid about wasting all the deliciousness. I would recommend that you try it once and decide for yourself. You can find out what all the fuss is about and save yourself the trouble in the future. If you are a chocolate lover, do try it with cocoa powder added. If you have an electric whisk, you can save yourself from the sore arms the next day. It was still a lot of fun to do during the lockdown as we were stuck indoors for the summer months. As a newbie when it comes to appreciating flavourful coffee, I have since then developed a more refined taste (I can see you rolling your eyes!).