Dalgona, or whipped coffee, is the tall glass of cold milk with a thick, caramel-coloured cloud of coffee foam on top. The recipe is everywhere: equal parts coffee, sugar and hot water, whisked until stiff. So it is natural to wonder whether you can make it with real ground coffee instead of a jar of instant. The short answer is no, not the way the videos show. The longer answer is that you can still get something just as good.
Why dalgona needs instant coffee
Instant coffee is coffee that has already been brewed and then dried into a powder or granules. When you add a spoonful of hot water, it dissolves completely. What you get is an extremely concentrated, syrupy coffee liquid, far stronger than anything you could brew.
That concentration is what makes the foam work. When you whisk it with sugar, the thick liquid traps air bubbles and holds them. The sugar makes the foam stiff and glossy.
Ground coffee does not dissolve. It is roasted bean, broken into pieces, and only part of it ever ends up in your cup. The rest stays behind as grounds. If you put ground coffee, sugar and water in a bowl and whisk, you get wet, gritty sludge with no foam at all.
What about brewed coffee?
Even very strong brewed coffee is mostly water. It is nowhere near thick enough to hold air the way dissolved instant does. You can whisk a cup of moka pot coffee with sugar for ten minutes and it will only ever get a few bubbles on top.
Dalgona foam comes from how concentrated instant coffee is, not from the whisking - which is why ground coffee will not do it.
Three ways to get a frothy coffee from fresh grounds
If you want the look and the feel of dalgona, with the flavour of fresh coffee, try one of these instead.
1. Shaken iced coffee
This gives a light, frothy top that comes surprisingly close.
- Brew a small amount of very strong coffee. A moka pot with a fine grind is ideal, or use double the usual coffee in a French press.
- Pour it into a jar with a spoonful of sugar and a handful of ice.
- Close the lid tightly and shake hard for twenty to thirty seconds.
- Pour it over cold milk in a tall glass.
The shaking chills the coffee and whips in air, so it lands with a pale foam on top. It does not stand up like dalgona, but it tastes far more like coffee.
2. Coffee whipped cream
This keeps the cloud on top and puts the fresh coffee underneath.
- Whip cold cream with a little sugar until it holds soft peaks.
- Fold in a spoonful or two of cooled strong coffee.
- Spoon it over a glass of iced milk, or iced milk with a short pour of coffee.
It is richer than dalgona, so a little goes a long way.
3. Frothed milk, strong coffee
Turn the recipe upside down. Froth the milk instead of the coffee by filling a clean jar halfway with cold milk, closing the lid tightly and shaking hard until it doubles in size. Pour it into a glass over ice, then pour strong coffee slowly through the foam.
Getting the coffee strong enough
All three methods depend on a short, strong brew. Weak coffee disappears under milk and ice. A few things help:
- Use more coffee, not longer brewing. Brewing longer makes coffee bitter. Using more grounds makes it stronger.
- Grind for the method. Fine for a moka pot, coarse for a French press. Ordering the right grind makes more difference than anything else.
- Cool it before it meets ice. Very hot coffee melts ice fast and waters itself down. Let it sit for a few minutes first.
If you drink these through a Karachi summer, keep a jar of strong coffee in the fridge for a day or two. Our post on cold brew at home is the easiest way to always have some ready.
Which coffee suits it
Dalgona tastes of sweet, roasted, slightly bitter coffee over cold milk. To get that flavour from fresh grounds, you want a coffee that is heavy and roasted and stands up to a lot of milk.
Vietnam is the obvious choice. It is a Robusta coffee: earthy, roasted and nutty, and the heaviest coffee in the Steep range. It is exactly what Vietnamese iced coffee is made with at home, over condensed milk and ice. A Medium Dark or Dark roast gives the deep, caramel flavour people expect from dalgona.
If you prefer something softer and sweeter, Brazil Rio Minas is nutty and milk chocolate, and very good with milk.
Try it this weekend
Keep the jar of instant for real dalgona if you love it. For a frothy iced coffee that actually tastes of coffee, shake a strong moka pot brew with sugar and ice and pour it over cold milk. To make it with a coffee built for strength, order Vietnam ground fine for a moka pot, delivered across Pakistan with cash on delivery.