How to Make Dalgona Coffee Three Ways (Vegan)

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Let’s all take a moment to give a round of applause to our TikTok masters and South Korean celebrities for making Dalgona coffee a trend. Seriously, I would’ve never discovered whipped coffee drinks had that not happened. Let’s be honest, would you be here at all if you already knew about it? But the real question is, why isn’t this available at every fancy coffee shop already? If I can at least speak for my boyfriend, it’s a life-changing beverage. And hopefully when quarantine is over, Dalgona will be on the menu at every coffee shop. A girl can only hope!

Dalgona coffee is one of the simplest, but maybe most time consuming caffeinated drinks to make, which is probably why we all strived to make it in our WFH boredom/unemployment. I mean it probably wouldn’t be wise to turn on your hand-mixer full blast in your office staff kitchen, or whisking by hand for twenty minutes while your boss checks the clock. So here we are, playing barista in our own kitchens and it’s been a hoot and a half! This whipped coffee recipe is no NASA math formula. It’s simply a 1:1:1 ratio of instant coffee, sugar and hot water, topped on a glass of chilled or hot milk. These are probably some of the cheapest ingredients you can find at the store. But today, we’re gonna get a little bougie. Here are three VEGAN (non-dairy, egg-free) ways to level up your Dalgona game to entertain your friends on Zoom calls or go viral on TikTok.

But first, here’s the equipment you’ll need:

• Mixing bowl
• Frother or hand/stand mixer
• Measuring spoons

That’s it! Hear are some options for the hand mixers: the Oster hand mixer is my tried and true mixer, but a more affordable one is the Proctor! And of course the reputable Kitchen Aid has to be on the list.

For a simple frother, you can go with the handheld with battery-pack, a rechargeable version, or a stand frother!

Mocha Dalgona

The mocha Dalgona is the easiest alteration of the three so we’re going to start here. All right, so we start with our base: instant coffee, sugar or granulated sugar-free sweetener. The only addition is the cocoa powder for a chocolate kick and voilà! Simple right? As mentioned before, all these Dalgona “evolutions” are non-dairy and egg-free: completely vegan. So for this one, all we’re going to do is make the milk plant-based. It doesn’t matter which one you’d like: soy, almond, oat, coconut, rice, hemp, peanut… It doesn’t alter the texture of your drink, but only fortifies its creaminess and flavour.

Makes: 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp instant coffee powder
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar or 1 tbsp SPLENDA^® No Calorie Sweetener, granulated
• 1 tbsp hot water (to help dissolve)
• 1 tsp of cocoa powder
• 1 cup of plant-based milk

Instructions:

1. Place instant coffee powder, sugar or sugar substitute and hot water in mixing bowl.
2. Use frother or electric mixer to mix ingredients until light-coloured, creamy (caramel-like) texture is achieved. You should see stiff peaks when you lift your mixer from the whipped Dalgona.
3. Add cocoa powder to the mix and mix until fully integrated.
4. Grab your glass of hot or chilled plant-based milk and spoon your Dalgona mixture over the milk. It’ll float perfectly on the top.
5. Sprinkle with some extra cocoa powder (optional).
6. Serve immediately and stir well with milk so as to not get a bitter & ultra sweet sip.

Dirty Chai Dalgona

The Masala Chai latte Dalgona is BY FAR my favourite thus far. After making my first tea latte Dalgona, I tried it with Earl Grey and make a London Fog Dalgona, but it didn’t have the same je-ne-sais-quoi as the Chai. Chai just perfectly pairs with coffee and so the Dirty Chai Dalgona is born. (P.S. If you don’t know what making a drink “dirty” means, it simply means adding an espresso shot, or in our case whipped coffee powder, to it.)

For the Chai Dalgona, the whipped coffee mixture stays the same; it’s the milk base that changes. It’s essentially a strong brewed glass of Masala Chai with milk. It takes minutes to have it hot but for cold a cold or iced chai, I highly recommend cold-brewing it. Traditionally, Masala Chai is brewed for hours before served which gives it that smooth, better-tasting flavour that you look for in its full Indian authenticity. But when you’ve only steeped it in hot water for a few minutes then shoot it with ice to cool it down, you’re over diluting a drink that could’ve been perfect. When making a Masala Chai latte, whether cold or hot, it’s best to do the following for the ideal flavour:

1. Place 2 tbsps of loose Chai leaves in a pitcher or 1 L Mason jar.
2. Add a quart (4 cups) of water to the pitcher or jar.
3. Leave it unsealed and let it cool to room temperature.
4. Strain the leaves and transfer back into the pitcher or jar.
5. Seal and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours.

And there you have it, a 1 L batch of cold-brewed Chai! For your Chai latte, fill a cup with 2/3 Chai tea, 1/3 milk (microwave to have it hot). Now back to our Dalgona.

Side note: As I made this Chai Dalgona (pictured here), I actually used an instant coffee mix that contained other ingredients other than straight coffee powder. It works and tastes delicious, but you won’t be able to achieve the fluffy composition of a Dalgona we so desire. It’ll be more caramel-like and might have a harder time mixing with your Chai base.

Makes: 1 serving

Dalgona Coffee Base Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp instant coffee powder
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar or 1 tbsp SPLENDA^® No Calorie Sweetener, granulated
• 1 tbsp hot water (to help dissolve)
• dash of cinnamon (optional)

Masala Chai Latte Ingredients (if you’re making it :

• 1/2 tbsp of Masala Chai loose tea leaves
• 2/3 cup of hot water
• 1/3 cup of plant-based milk

Instructions:

1. Brew the Masala Chai tea leaves in hot water. You can either use a steeper and steep the tea or use a strainer to remove the leaves once the tea in brewed. See above on how to cold-brew the tea for best tasting results.
2. Add plant-based milk (hot or cold). Chill Chai latte with ice if you desire it cold.
3. Place instant coffee powder, sugar or sugar substitute and hot water in mixing bowl.
4. Use frother or electric mixer to mix ingredients until light-coloured, creamy (caramel-like) texture is achieved. You should see stiff peaks when you lift your mixer from the whipped Dalgona.
5. Grab your glass of hot or chilled Chai latte and spoon your Dalgona mixture over the drink. It’ll float perfectly on the top.
6. Sprinkle with some powdered cinnamon (optional).
7. Serve immediately and stir well with Masala Chai latte so as to not get a bitter & ultra sweet sip.

Matcha Dalgona

This one is definitely a little more challenging because we’re now integrating a whole new ingredient: aquafaba, i.e. chick pea juice. Yup, that’s right. You know that liquid that comes with every can of chick peas? We’re using that. It’s no longer the thing we drain, but the thing we use to get that fluffy, creamy texture we need to make our Dalgona Matcha. This is the best vegan option I’ve tried. Others recommend using full-fat coconut milk but I find that the coconut flavour lingers too much. For non-vegan alternatives, the most common use egg whites or heavy cream. There’s a risk when using egg whites but if you’ve ever made macarons or meringue, it’s the same idea. Only problem is that we’re not cooking/baking the mixture. You might be asking: why do we need these funky ingredients anyway? Why not use the same process as with the instant coffee? Because instant coffee and matcha powder have very different makeups: matcha is much more dense and the particles have a tendency to latch onto each other. When you attempt to whip/froth the matcha, sugar and water, you can’t get enough air bubbles in the mixture to lighten it and it remains heavy and dense. So set aside your instant coffee and hot water. You won’t need it anymore.

Can I use other types of beans instead of chickpeas? Yes! And no. You definitely can use other types of beans but it’s important to note that textures vary and you might not get the peaks we so desire. But taste is the main reason I would discourage you from using anything other than chickpeas and maybe white beans. Trust me, I used a six bean medley once and the Dalgona tasted salty and, obviously, like beans! Yack! Just use chick peas.

Makes: 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp matcha powder
• 2 tbsps of aquafaba (liquid from chick pea can)
• 1 tbsp granulated or powdered sugar or 1 tbsp SPLENDA^® No Calorie Sweetener
• 1 cup of plant-based milk

Instructions:

1. Pour aquafaba into small mixing bowl and mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks are achieved. It might take about ten minutes and the volume of aquafaba will quadruple when you start to see the creamy, white texture.
2. Add matcha powder and sugar or sugar substitute to the bowl and mix until smooth.
3. Grab your glass of hot or chilled milk and spoon your Dalgona mixture over the milk. It’ll float perfectly on the top.
4. Sprinkle with some powdered matcha (optional).
5. Serve immediately and stir well with milk so as to not get a bitter & ultra sweet sip.

I hope you guys enjoy these recipes and have fun playing at-home barista! I’d love to see your own concoctions, so be sure to tag me or send me your Dalgona drinks!

Want me to try making something else? Let me know down below!

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