Dalgona coffee: How to make the trendy whipped caffeinated beverage

Photos and videos of drink have taken over social media

How to make dalgona coffee (Stock)

If you’ve been on social media in the last month, which is likely, chances are you’ve seen photos or videos of whimsical, fluffy-looking coffee.

Dalgona coffee, otherwise known whipped coffee or cloud coffee, is the newest social media craze - and the thousands of TikToks showing people making the drink make it clear why.

Unlike regular coffee, or even a latte, dalgona coffee stands out because of its frothy top - made by whipping instant coffee with sugar and water, which results in a visually appealing fluffy light brown foam that is then spooned over milk.

The trend apparently started earlier this year when South Korean actor Jung Il-woo made it on TV.

On TikTok and YouTube, tutorials for the drink have since been viewed millions of times, while a search on Instagram for dalgona coffee results in more than 237,000 results for the beverage.

The best part? Unlike other food trends, which may require at least some cooking skill, dalgona coffee is easy to make.

This is how to make dalgona whipped coffee.

According to a recipe uploaded to YouTube by The Cooking Foodie, which has been viewed more than 4m times, you’ll need two tablespoons of instant coffee, two tablespoons of sugar, and two tablespoons of hot water.

After pouring all of the ingredients into a bowl, you whisk with either an electric mixer or a whisk until the mixture is “thick and creamy”.

Once you’ve achieved the desired fluffiness, you pour milk into a cup with ice and top with the coffee foam.

But you can’t take a sip before the last step. “Photo for Insta story,” the tutorial concludes with a wink.

If you prefer your caffeinated drinks hot, you can also warm the milk before topping it with the fluffy mix, according to other recipes.

As for why the whipped drink is so popular right now - apart from its Instagrammable aesthetic - it seems people confined to their homes amid the coronavirus pandemic are looking for distractions.

“I think, more than anything, it’s a drink that’s a really fun distraction for specifically right now,” Los Angeles Times cooking columnist Ben Mims told The Cut. “It uses an ingredient that everyone already has in their pantry, either by accident or on purpose, and manipulates it to create this frivolous fluff that makes you feel like you created magic.”