Maybe it is because everyone is home and bored, but there is currently a trend sweeping YouTube and the Internet in general called Dalgona Coffee a.k.a “Whipped Coffee”. Apparently, it originates in Korea or India or both. Always up on the latest and greatest, Justin wanted us to make it yesterday. We are both essential workers and finding time together lately has been the reverse of nearly everyone else’s situation: difficult. So, with there being no place to go and nothing to do, we gave this Dalgona Coffee a try.

It is incredibly easy, and something that almost everyone will be able to pull off with what they have available in their kitchens. You will have to look up a recipe for exact measurements, but essentially you put instant coffee (we had Bustello on-hand), sugar, and hot water in a bowl (you can also add cocoa). You then beat the hell out of it, either in a few minutes with an electric beater, or you can be an absolute psychopath and do it by hand (takes approximately 15-17 minutes according to most videos). Well, even having all the time in the world did not cause us to go down that road. We used an electric beater, and voila, it surely came out looking exactly as it does online. This frothy almost velvety mixture is then gently lathered atop iced cold milk (or hot milk if you want). Its an upside-down latte. But how did it taste?

The pros: It looks beautiful! I don’t have a clear coffee mug so I used a large rocks glass. We’re not a couple to brag, but damn, does that not look amazing? Also, texture-wise, this creation is a homerun. It is smooth as silk and has an interesting mouth-feel (if only because of how different this is). It is also a lot of fun seeing it come together in the bowl exactly as described. I imagine families would have a good time with this as a group activity, though you may want to use decaf for the children or they may bounce through the walls.

The cons: The flavor is incredibly bitter. I do not even use sugar in coffee on any regular basis and I found myself puckering my lips because of how strong it is. The amount of sugar needed for this to actually taste good in my eyes would be a turn off. Also, the whipped coffee does not blend well with the milk. In fact, it becomes a bit of a mess since it gets all over your lips and sticks to the glass. Justin reverted to eating this with a spoon, which is certainly not what this “drink” was intended to be. You can also feel the caffeine surge through you a lot quicker than it would otherwise.

Overall: He liked it, and I didn’t. He wants to make it again with alterations (making it sweeter, using regular coffee instead of espresso, etc) while I am perfectly fine leaving this alone and letting the bored YouTubers have at it online. It was interesting, I am glad we gave it a try, and it killed all of 20 minutes, but I cannot really recommend this to anyone unless you are literally bored to death.