Dalgona Coffee: Three Things to Know Before You Make It

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For coffee lovers like me, you cannot hear about a coffee trend like the Dalgona coffee and not try it. Although I may be a little late to try it, I was still as excited to give it a try. Everyone raves about it and says it’s worth the time to make it. I had to see (or rather, taste) for myself.

The Dalgona coffee, if you haven’t heard about it, is a whipped and creamy coffee drink that originated in South Korea and made popular after going viral on TikTok. It is made with just four ingredients and involves a lot of whisking.

I wanted the full experience so I tried two versions of it–with cold milk over ice and warm milk. I have read that some people have preferred Dalgona coffee either warm or cold. Aside from blended ice coffees, I am not a cold coffee type of person. Therefore, I was ready to fall in love with the warm version.

The Dalgona recipe includes equal parts of instant coffee, sugar and water–two tablespoons of each. Note: only use instant coffee. Put the ingredients together in a container and then whisk the ingredients until they are frothy. After that you then scoop the mixture over warm milk, cold milk, or cold milk over ice. The bulk of the work involves whisking the coffee mixture. I received Zulay Kitchen’s Milk Boss Electric Milk Frother, which saved me time and a lot of hand whisking.

Before you set out to make a Dalgona coffee, there are three things I think you should know to ensure you have a good experience.

1. Get yourself an electric milk frother. The most important step in making Dalgona coffee is to whisk the coffee mixture to a frothy consistency. Yes, you can do this with a manual whisk, but it takes longer–approximately five minutes of patient hand whisking. I recommend Zulay Kitchen’s Milk Boss Electric Milk Frother, which worked beautifully and got the mixture to a frothy consistency in less than half the time. You hand will thank you.

2. Use a deep bowl, cup or container to whisk. The first time I made Dalgona coffee I used a short glass bowl. I thought since the coffee mixture was not a lot that the bowl would suffice. I soon learned that when you whisk the mixture, it creates small coffee specks that can be contained by whisking in a deeper container. I could barely see them and only realized this after feeling some on my skin. So used a deep container the next time I made it with no issues.

3. Combine the mixture thoroughly before tasting it. In the various website postings I read to find Dalgona coffee recipes, I did not see a lot of emphasis in mixing it before drinking it. In one post, it was just suggested. I highly recommend that you mix it up well with the milk before taking a sip. It may look beautiful, tasty and ready to drink when the whipped coffee mixture is poured on top of the milk, but you will simply sip the coffee and sugar mixture if you don’t. That is not pleasant. The mixture takes a while to go down on its own. Mix everything with a spoon to get the full experience.

In sum, Dalgona is a very delicious, creamy coffee drink. I know now why so many people rave about it.

Make sure to try the hot and cold versions. I made the Dalgona coffee with cold milk over ice first and then later with warm milk. I enjoyed the warm coffee, but surprisingly, I preferred the cold version. The taste was the same, but I just enjoyed drinking it iced more than warm. This is the version I crave and have already made three times. With my Zulay Kitchen Milk Boss Electric Milk Frother, I foresee more Dalgona’s in my future!