Due to my state’s recent stay-at-home order as well as the COVID-19 outbreak in general, I have been spending a lot more time on social media, especially Instagram. I recently saw this trend going around called “whipped coffee”, which seems to have originated on TikTok. After seeing multiple posts of people making the coffee, I also noticed that it was being called “dalgona coffee”, and I knew that dalgona was a Korean candy. As far as I knew, dalgona did not contain any coffee products so I decided to do more research to look into this trend.
Dalgona coffee is basically the opposite of a latte, meaning that instead of frothing the milk, you froth the coffee component. The recipe is pretty simple– all you have to do is mix equal parts of instant coffee, sugar, and water. The goal is to whip all three ingredients together until you achieve a light and airy texture, like in whipped cream. Most people pour the whipped coffee over ice and milk, but I have also seen some people pour it over steamed milk for a warm drink. I personally dislike the taste of coffee but a lot of my friends have been enjoying the trend so I wanted to try something similar. Instead of using instant coffee powder, I decided to try it with matcha powder. I poured my whipped mixture over iced soymilk; it ended up being pretty good and not too sweet! I don’t own a mixer so I wouldn’t make this drink on a daily basis since I would have to hand whip it every time, but I can see myself making it as a special treat. It was really aesthetically pleasing as well as tasty so I can see why it was trending.
As for dalgona itself, I also did some research on its history. It is a popular traditional Korean street food that became popular in the 70s. It only requires two ingredients and is pretty easy to make. In South Korea, they typically heat sugar in a large metal spoon over a flame. You continuously mix it and when it becomes completely melted, you quickly add a bit of baking powder. This causes a chemical reaction and the mixture becomes foamy and increases in size. After mixing for a few seconds, you quickly pour the mixture onto parchment paper and put a skewer in it while it hardens. In Korea, the street vendors usually flatten it with a metal press and use small metal cookie cutters to make cute shapes in it. Once it has completely hardened, you can put it off and eat it like a lollipop!
I recently watched an episode of “The Return of the Superman”– a popular South Korean reality-variety show that features celebrity fathers who are left alone to care for their young children– and one of the dads tried to make dalgona for his child. He attempted multiple times and continuously failed because he kept burning the sugar mixture. He eventually had to ask someone on the film crew to make it for his son and she was able to do so successfully on her first try. I am planning on trying to make this tomorrow with my sister and hopefully it will go smoothly since I know what not to do.
Comments
The phrase 'dalgona coffee' has been popping up a lot recently, but I never really paid attention to it because I too don't like the taste of coffee. It's really cool that you looked into it. I wonder why it is trending recently, is it a new concept? I even saw a video of BTS making dalgona coffee. What you did with matcha sounds pretty delicious, I might try it myself sometime! Thank you for this post!
Hi Annabelle!
I also tried to make the dalgona coffee with my family members. I used to love buying dalgona, or 뽑기, from the same grandma at a corner near my home in Korea. My mom also says it brings back memories from her childhood. Despite loving dalgona itself, I did not like the coffee. I went through the struggle of hand whipping it and didn't even enjoy it at the end. But, I'm glad you enjoyed the drink!
Hey Annabelle!
Yes, the infamous dalgona coffee truly stirred up the internet. Initially, I thought it was going to require me to make actual dalgona candy, but then I realized it was simply referring to the color and initial fluffy texture of the dalgona candy. Anyways, I did NOT whip it up by hand and used my hand mixer, but I have to say it was pretty good for a homemade espresso drink. It's not an everyday drink, but definitely when you're bored in quarantine.
Hey Annabelle! This was a really cool post. I also learned about this trend through social media and a couple of my friends. I tried it with them, and it was delicious, except the first time I put it on top of warm milk, which completely ruined it. But now that I know how, I enjoy it occasionally, because I really enjoy the texture of this coffee. I will definitely try the original dalgona now, thanks for sharing.
Annabelle, thanks for sharing your post on dalgona. I thought it was interesting to see how popular dalgona candy was as a street food even though it's just sugar and baking soda! I wonder how much they cost during the 70s and if it's still sold in Korea. I attempted to make the candy and thought it would be easy to make because of the simple ingredients, but ended up burning the sugar mixture twice before getting right. I thought it was so cool that you also made it with matcha.
Hey! I thought your cultural post was really cool! I didn't know about dalgona coffee and honestly, that sounds really good. I love coffee and this sounds really interesting. I did see this trend on tiktok and it's cool to learn that it originated from Korea. I will definitely want to try it and will look into more about dalgona.
Annabelle,
What an interesting post! I am interested if you can also make any designs on this drink as they do on cappuccino...etc. (If you do try it, I would love to see a photo of it). The dalgona seems similar to a candy we have in Afghanistan which is also made from heating sugar and letting it harden. It's called deshlama. Thank you for this insightful post.
Hi Annabelle,
I loved this post. I actually tried this trend myself after seeing multiple TikToks on it. It did take very long and was very much of a hand workout and not an everyday drink without a mixer of some sort. I think it is so interesting that your version with matcha also worked. It is so fascinating that the coffee component can be frothed and transformed to a carmel color. I wonder how the dalgona coffee and dalgona treat would taste together. Making the treat sounds easier than it really is. Now I really want to try a dalgona treat and your version of the coffee. Thank you for the awesome insights!
Hi Annabelle,
I have such an interesting relationship with coffee in that I really used to dislike it but now I have a cup every morning so it was really cool to see a new spin on coffee! This also seems to be appropriate timing for a fun coffee drink to make at home now that people can't go to Starbucks or other coffee shops to get their special drinks. I actually didn't know that dalgona was a Korean candy and now I definitely want to try it because I love sweet things. I love the concept behind it being essentially "the opposite of a latte." I wonder if Starbucks or other coffee shops will add this trendy drink to their menus after quarantine...I also have always wanted to go to a Korean street food market and now I really especially want to go try one of these drinks. Thanks for this idea, Annabelle!
Hi Annabelle, awesome post! I have been seeing this trend everywhere as well. I tried it with coffee and it was pretty good but I think the matcha one looks even better! Your post also educated me on what dalgona was. It seems simple enough but also like something you could also easily mess up.