Introducing Dalgona: This Is The Best Whipped Creamy Coffee

DALGONA COFFEE (WHIPPED CREAMY COFFEE)

Coffee, I am sure many will agree,  has a magical effect on one’s physical as well as psychological well-being. A cup of coffee, which smells divine can help one in a myriad ways….either while preparing for an exam, or during  a coffee break, or coffee taken to help relax one’s nerves or simply to feel good any time of the day.

Espresso, cappuccino, black coffee, café au latte, Turkish coffee, filter coffee, Irish coffee, café mocha, Instant coffee, Coorg coffee,, etc….give it any name, each of these will still taste as good, just as Shakespeare’s Juliet said “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

As it turns out, we have the Arab world to thank for coffee. It was here that coffee was given the name we all know today, derived from the Arabic word Qahwa. 

“Coffee drinking certainly has a fair share of romanticism attached to it” is what i remember reading somewhere.  And how true it is,  poetically speaking. Coffee, I believe, has a positive effect on brain health, as caffeine present in coffee helps to speed up the activity in the neurons.  

The aroma, the flavour, the taste, everything that is coffee, is very therapeutic.  My love for coffee extends far back, which is more than a decade back when I used to sip some coffee here and there while living in the middle east where coffee is a symbol of hospitality. It almost became a tradition, when my friends would either come over to my place or we would all go to a coffee shop (there are plenty in the mid east) and nonchalantly order for the beverage of our choice – coffee.  

Dalgona coffee, also known as beaten coffee, is a beverage made by whipping equal parts of instant coffee powder, sugar, and hot water until it becomes creamy and then adding it to cold or hot milk. 

Now, let’s get into the making of the simple yet awesome dalgona coffee.

INGREDIENTS:

Take equal amounts of coffee powder, sugar and hot water.  The following measurements are for guidance:

• 4 Tbsp sugar (I use brown sugar)

• 4 Tbsp instant coffee 

• 4 Tbsp hot water

• Milk, chilled or boiled

The above measurements are for making and storing the coffee cream.  One can reduce or increase the quantity according to one’s requirement. 

Combine instant coffee, sugar and hot water in a mixing bowl. Mix them well. Then using a hand blender,  whisk it on high speed until the coffee mixture forms a stiff peak.  Whipped creamy coffee is ready for use with the milk. 

If you wish to drink it cold, add ice cubes in a glass, then pour the chilled milk and finally scoop out the whipped coffee cream  and add it to the milk. Give it a stir and the  chilled dalgona is ready.  

If you wish to drink it hot,  pour the hot milk in a mug, scoop out the whipped coffee cream and add it to the milk. Give it a stir and the hot dalgona is ready.  

 One can top up the coffee mug with cocoa (which i generally do), or crumbled chocolate, or honey and take the dalgona to a different level of heavenly delight. 

The good thing about the whipped creamy coffee is that, if you make a large volume, it can be refrigerated for a few days in an air tight container (without milk) and enjoy a dalgona as and when you are magnaetically drawn towards it.  

So, all ye coffee lovers go ahead and have your cup of coffee without the guilt attached to it.

Before closing this little write-up, I would like to share an interesting fact:  Just like the equator that crosses the globe, there is a coffee bean belt that wraps around the world between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. All the coffee grown in the world falls within this Bean Belt. Amazing, isn’t it? 

Sudha Mukhopadhyay