How To Make A Dalgona Latte

Dalgona lattes are easy to make, delicious to drink, and surprisingly travel-friendly. Yep, I've made them in hotel rooms and you can too!

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A Dalgona latte is easy to make and delicious to drink. Photo by Josh Johnson on Unsplash

Dalgona lattes are among the hottest social media crazes of 2020 – an unusual consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This photogenic drink started as a local trend among South Korean social media stars and is now a fully-fledged international phenomenon. Consisting of a soft, pillowy, caramel-coloured pile of whipped instant coffee and sugar that sits on top of a glass of cold ice milk, dalgona lattes are easy to make, delicious to drink, and just the thing to inject a little bit of cafe style into your quarantine routine. 

Photo by Leigh Skomal on Unsplash

Where Does The Name Come From?

“Dalgona” is the name for Korean honeycomb candy. The term “Dalgona coffee” is credited to South Korean actor Jung Il-woo, who ordered a whipped coffee at an eatery in Macau while appearing on a celebrity TV food show. He loved the delicious drink and called it Macau Dalgona coffee, and it soon caught on. However, different versions of whipped coffee exist all around the world. 

In Greece, frappe coffee has been famous since 1957 when, according to legend, a representative of Nescafe attended the Thessaloniki International Fair and had to improvise to make himself a drink. In the Greek tradition, instant coffee and water are combined in a shaker to make a frothy concoction for which milk and sugar are optional. 

In India, a similar drink is called phenti hue or phitti hui coffee, or “beaten coffee.” A dollop of whipped instant coffee and sugar is placed at the bottom of a mug, and warm milk is added to make what many people call handmade Indian cappuccino. 

But while frappes and phenti hui have been around for many years, it’s dalgona that’s become the darling of coffee aficionados struck with cabin fever as they self-isolate during the COVID-19 global health crisis. South Korean YouTube stars are credited for sparking the trend on social media, which quickly spread abroad.

What You Need To Make It

A Dalgona latte’s whipped topping is made with instant coffee or espresso, sugar, and hot water, and the base is usually milk or any non-dairy alternative, such as almond or oat milk, with ice cubes added.

While any brand of instant coffee will work, only some instant coffee and espresso are created equal. So, by all means, feel free to use any old instant coffee you might have leftover from a bygone camping trip, but if you’re keen to pick up something new for your experiments, aim for quality over quantity. Note that ground coffee beans won’t work. Nor can you add a little brewed espresso instead of instant coffee and water. 

There is flexibility in terms of the sweetener. Classic white sugar is used in most recipes, but brown or raw sugar will be fine. Most sugar substitutes will also work.

An electric mixer will save you some time and energy at home. I also found a soft spatula helpful for scraping down the sides of my mixing bowl and spooning the mixture out into my milk. 

How To Make It On The Road

You can easily make Dalgona lattes in hotels and hostels, in an RV, or while camping with nothing more than a measuring spoon, a whisk, and a small bowl. All Dalgona lattes require equal amounts of very hot water, sugar, and instant coffee or espresso. The most common measurements are two tablespoons of each, which makes enough for two standard-size mugs or one very large glass.

I frequently travel with Starbucks Via instant coffee sachets. Each sachet contains approximately 2 teaspoons of instant coffee. I used two sachets – 4 teaspoons total – for my Dalgona experiments, along with 4 teaspoons each of sugar and hot water. It made the perfect amount of topping for one person.

In a hotel room, you’ll have to improvise a bit! If you can get two plastic forks and attach them back-to-back with an elastic, you have a handy substitute for a whisk that will do a pretty good job of frothing your mixture in a spare coffee cup. 

Step-by-Step Process

• Combine an equal measure of sugar, instant coffee or espresso, and hot water in a small bowl. Tip: Add the hot water first. In case extra splashes in, you can quickly start over.

• If you’re on the road, use the in-room hotel coffee maker to heat water. (I like to run the water through a few times to ensure it’s extra clean). 

• Once combined, it’s time to whisk the mixture. Within two minutes of brisk whisking, I could see a massive transformation in my ingredients. By four minutes, it was really coming together; by six minutes, it was thick enough to hold peaks.

• Spoon the thick coffee mixture with milk and ice cubes on a glass mug.

• Pause to take a photo and share it on social media. You’re a trendsetter now!

• Mix it up and enjoy a thick, creamy, slightly sweet version of an iced coffee. 

Photo by Tijana Drndarski on Unsplash

Dalgona Coffee Variations

• Add a pinch of cinnamon to your instant coffee mixture, or top the finished results with crushed cookies, caramel drizzle, or cocoa powder.
• Dalgona coffee is vegan-friendly and works excellent with all dairy alternatives.
• You can make a keto-friendly Dalgona latte using a sugar substitute and cream instead of milk.
• Dalgona lattes make an incredible mocha! Just spoon your mixture on top of hot chocolate. This is perfect for those who like their drinks sweet.
• And, yes, you certainly can use Baileys or another alcoholic beverage as your base. I see you, readers. I see you!

The Result

Making Dalgona lattes is a lot of fun. It’s a satisfying kitchen project, and sharing the results on social media is an excellent way to spread community cheer. It might not compensate for missing your favourite cafe, but it will be a bright spot in your day. And I’m absolutely bringing the necessary ingredients to make a dalgona mocha on my next hotel stay! 


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