Forget the bitterness: Try this new version of Dalgona Coffee
Cappuccino, Latte. Café Mocha, Frappe, Expresso, Filter-kaapi or your own version of home-made coffee, this 6 letter word - 'Coffee' defines most of your mornings, evenings, refreshment times, monsoons and winters.
Undeniably, you can agree to the fact that it has a special place in our lives. But lately, something else was trending in the coffee world, which has taken all the buzz on the internet and became a sensation during the peak challenging time of our age - COVID-19 pandemic.
Yes, I’m talking about the well popular, social media hit coffee – the ‘Dalgona Coffee’.
This blog post talks about Dalgona Coffee, the global food trend that took over social media during the beginning of COVID-19. The origin of Dalgona Coffee; its overnight fame; coffee lover’s disappointment; its caffeine content check and a new version recipe to make a non-bitter, and tastier Dalgona Coffee are explained here.
Quarantine days and Dalgona Coffee
The Dalgona Coffee, which came like a storm right after the COVID-19 outbreak, had taken the eyes of millions of people across the world. It was a massive hit in social media platforms. People have found it fascinating, simple and celebrated their beginning of quarantine days making the Internet sensation Dalgona Coffee.
Dalgona coffee is nothing but a latte drink made by mixing equal quantities of instant coffee powder, sugar, and hot water until it becomes a velvety smooth stiff coffee foam and then pouring it to cold or hot milk.
The drink, which was known as the 'quarantine coffee' in no time, caught the attention and interest of people because they were either missing their usual visit to a coffee shop or they were excited about having a whipped coffee at home.
Origin:
Dalgona coffee is said to be inspired by a candy in South Korea called dalgona. According to the South China Morning Post, it was created after the Korean War (1950-53).
The local parents, who wanted to make affordable sweets for their children invented the dalgona candy. It is made by adding sugar in water, boiling it until it becomes slightly golden and then adding baking soda into it. The mixture turns out puffy and hard like a crunchy toffee when it becomes cool. That’s how the popular honeycomb candy, dalgona is made in South Korea. It is sweet but gives a slightly bitter taste afterwards.
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| Source: Kimchimari.com |
However, the story behind the origin of dalgona coffee is complicated. Although the trend of this whipped coffee started from South Korea, there seem to be multiple varieties of similar coffees with different names globally. People claim that we can easily find similar coffee recipes in Libya, India, Cuba and Greece.
Overnight fame:
Dalgona coffee got introduced to world fame through an overnight social media trend. It became the viral trend across all the platforms from YouTube to TikTok to Instagram to Twitter to Facebook.
Interest in the drink has increased rapidly, since a lot of people were engaged in social distancing due to the spread of COVID-19, and they were curious to experiment with the trending recipes. Also, the lockdown rules followed by the majority of countries gave people no option to step out of the house and visit a coffee shop.
The aesthetically pleasing pictures of Dalgona Coffee was worth scrolling through social media during the lockdown. The #dalgonacoffee tag on Instagram has approximately 523,000 now (28th Sep 2020).
Besides being a social media trend, its velvety smooth texture, and simple and cheap recipe, was the main appeal that attracted people to experiment it.
Not every coffee-lover is happy with its strong taste:
On the other side of the story, some people are not so happy with the taste of the drink. They find it highly strong and bitter; and criticized that it is ‘overhyped’.
Surprisingly, these people are also coffee lovers. I’m one among them and I also have gone with the trend of whipping the coffee like every other person did during locked down days. But I got disappointed with its bitter taste.
Caffeine content check:
Dalgona coffee contains 2 tablespoons of instant coffee powder.
1 teaspoon can hold 2 grams of instant coffee, and 1 tablespoon can hold 6 grams (Source).
Hence, the dalgona coffee, which has 2 tablespoons of instant coffee, contains 12 grams of instant coffee in a single cup, which is quite strong to consume at a time. That’s the sole reason why a lot of people who tried it felt that it’s too bitter.
Having said that, the caffeine content in the instant coffee can also differ depending on the coffee brand you pick.
New version recipe:
Normally, you can make the coffee taste less bitter/strong by adding more sugar or milk to it. But Dalgona Coffee already has 2 tablespoons of sugar and adding more sugar to it would make it out of the proportion or unhealthy to consume. And if you increase milk quantity, it might disturb the flavour of the coffee.
Hence, I have come up with a new version of Dalgona Coffee to make the perfect cup, which is neither strong and nor bitter.
Here's how you can make one for yourself -
Required ingredients -
- Instant coffee powder (1.5 Tablespoon)
- Sugar (2 Tablespoons)
- Hot water (2 Tablespoons)
- A pinch of salt
- Cocoa powder (1/2 Teaspoon)
- Choco chips
- Milk (3/4 glass)
- Milk (3/4 glass)
Method -
Step 1 -
Add the above-mentioned quantities of instant coffee, sugar, and hot water in a bowl and mix it well.
Step 2 -
Whisk it until you start getting a fluffy consistency and then add a pinch of salt to it. (Use an electric mixer for a faster process. Whisking it by hand will take a toll on your arms and time)
Step 3 -
Tilt the bowl and see once a stiff foam is made. If it doesn't spill, then its perfectly whipped (it takes 4 - 5 minutes).
Step 4 -
Take a small glass or a cup, pour three scoops of the whipped coffee mixture. Put cocoa powder to it and mix it for 5-8 seconds (If you mix for longer, your mixture will lose its fluffy consistency and becomes watery).
Step 5 -
Spoon three scoops of the new coffee mixture to a glass of milk of your choice with a few ice cubes. (You can choose hot milk as well).
Step 6 -
Sprinkle some choco chips as per your taste on top of the coffee mixture. (Optional).
Step 7 -
Stir it well with the milk and then drink it.
Summary:
It’s fascinating to make an Instagram worthy frothy two-toned coffee at home, with simple ingredients in less than 10 minutes. Although you would have followed it as a quarantined trend, it would have become a coffee favourite for many.
For the people, who were disappointed with the bitter taste of Dalgona Coffee, you should definitely try this new version to experience a non-bitter and tastier Dalgona Coffee. It tastes absolutely delicious and I love it.
Try this new version of Dalgona Coffee and make it your bae.
Kindly check out the video recipe of the new version of Dalgona coffee below:
Do let me know your views about this blog post in the comments section or connect with me at 📧 perhapsawish@gmail.com. If you find this post helpful, share it with a friend or on your social media today!
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