Dalgona Coffee, Whipped Coffee, Indian Cappuccino. Known by many names, chances are you've seen this new (but old!) type of coffee all over Instagram. This modern take on whipped coffee has it's origins in Indian Beaten Coffee: instant coffee mixed with hot water and whipped with sugar to make a coffee foam, and then topped with hot milk.
The story goes that this coffee made it's way to Macao, where the coffee foam was served on top of cold milk. It was served to a Korean gentleman who thought it looked like a Korean honeycomb sweet called Dalgona, hence the name.
History over - here's the basis for how it works
Instant coffee provides the base for the strength of Dalgona coffee. For those who may not know, instant coffee is essentially brewed coffee that has had it's water content removed through freeze drying, so the left over solids provide for concentrated soluble coffee hence why you use so little when making a cup of instant coffee.
The coffee foam recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of instant coffee, 2 tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Very little liquid and a lot of coffee! Introducing air into this liquid mixture whips it up, turning it into a coffee fondant foam.
This concentration simply doesn't work for freshly brewed coffee: it's not strong enough and using more brewed coffee means too much liquid for the foam to be whipped up. So at Kopi House we've designed our own take on Dalgona coffee using freshly brewed Nanyang Kopi which is just as easy to make but provides for a more visually engaging coffee drink. Our whipped coffee foam is like soft whipped cream - it's much easier to mix in with the cold milk at the bottom this way and has a brilliantly soft texture.
The recipe has 3 parts - the brew, the whipping, the layering.
THE BREW RECIPE
Yield: 1 Portion
Kopi: 30g
Water: 75g, freshly boiled
Kit: Coffee Sock, Brewing Cup S1 x2, Tablespoon, Timer
Filter Prep: Rinsed and well wrung
Brew Time: 5 minutes approx
- Add Kopi Powder to a Brewing Cup S1
- Add 75g freshly boiled water
- Stir very well to saturate all the coffee grounds - such little water needs more stirring effort. Set a 5 minute timer and steep. We're going for an intense thick brew
- When the timer is up, stir grounds to reintegrate into brew, and then pour through your Coffee Sock into the second Brewing Cup S1
- You should now have about 4 tablespoons of intense Nanyang Kopi
THE WHIPPING RECIPE
Brewed Kopi: 2 tablespoons
Water: 2 tablespoons
Sugar: 2 tablespoons
Kit: hand or electric whisk
- Add all ingredients into a mixing bowl or similar
- Whip for 5-10 minutes. First the mixture looks runny and grainy. As the sugar dissolves, the mixture turns a darker shade, thickens slightly and looks a little glossy. Later on, the mixture thickens and turns medium-light brown. Keep an eye on the stiffness - it won't ever get too thick - so no need to keep whipping if you're hoping for stiff peaks like a meringue
- Let sit for a few minutes to settle and stiffen further
- Congrats, you now have Nanyang Kopi Foam
THE LAYERING RECIPE
Cold Milk: 200ml approx (optional hot)
Ice: optional
Brewed Kopi:
2 tablespoons leftover from the brew
Kopi Foam: all of it
Garnish (optional): finely ground Nanyang Kopi Powder. If you have a home grinder, grind about 1-2 heaped teaspoons to Turkish coffee grind size
- Add ice (if using) to a suitable sized glass - short and wide is preferable. Glass should be no larger than 10oz. Shorter glasses make for a bolder coffee flavour as there is less milk to dilute the foam.
- Pour cold milk into a glass. Ice reduces the amount of milk that can be poured in, making for a bolder Dalgona Kopi
- Carefully spoon in the last two tablespoons of brewed Nanyang Kopi on top of the milk. This makes up for some of the 'lost' strength. Plus it will stylishly marble down to the bottom
- Spoon the coffee foam gently onto the surface of the cold milk, taking care to spoon onto uncovered areas so as to completely cover the top
- Garnish with fine ground Nanyang Kopi Powder over the top. Not only does it look great, it adds a further hit of Nanyang Kopi
- Serve with a teaspoon
How you drink your Dalgona Nanyang Kopi is up to you. We like to stir a little of the foam into the top 1/4 of the cold milk. It's like stirring in whipped cream.
TIP
Dalgona is a sweet milky and mild coffee. Want a bolder coffee flavour? Add more brewed Nanyang Kopi to the milk.
Increase quantity of ingredients as needed for more portions
Tried this recipe? Tag us on social media @kopihouseuk