We Taste-Tested That Viral Whipped Coffee Recipe To Spare Your Arms the Pain

I broke my brand new whisk for this.

If you’ve been on the internet recently, you’ve likely seen a bunch of short and fast videos of people whisking their coffee.

If you’re not sure what we’re on about, let us introduce you to dalgona coffee.

Originating in India, Macau and Pakistan, the drink also known as 'beaten coffee' has recently become popularised by millions of users on TikTok.

It first appeared on screens in January, on a Korean TV show called Pyunstorang, when actor Jun Il-Woo tried the drink in Macau and nicknamed it dalgona due to its similarity to the Korean sponge candy with the same name.

Now that millions of people are stuck in their homes with nothing better to do, they’ve turned to whisking, stirring, whipping and blending their coffee to achieve the fluffiest brew possible.

But is the time and effort actually worth it for the taste?

Here’s what we think.

To make the drink, you simply whisk together equal parts (usually two tablespoons) instant coffee, sugar and hot water in a cup or bowl, then add your milk of choice to a glass and spoon the coffee on top.

The use of instant coffee is apparently really important because the drying process for instant coffee granules is what creates the dense and foamy top that regular coffee just won’t.

To whip your drink, you can use whatever you want; it just depends how long you want to stand around mixing up your morning coffee.

Some people have tried milk frothers, spoons and even hand mixers, but the most common tool is the classic whisk.

When I attempted this recipe, I made sure to apply a hack that I learned from another TikTok, in which you whisk your coffee in a tall glass between both hands to seriously shorten the mixing time.

Despite this I still found myself aggressively stirring the mixture for at least 10 minutes. I definitely worked up a sweat.

By this point my arms could go on no more so I gave in. While my coffee wasn’t the fluffiest I’ve ever seen, It was aerated and whipped, so I decided: good enough.

When it comes to the taste, I think it’s important to note that if you don’t usually like coffee, you’re not going to like this either.

The drink itself is layered with a thick, frothy texture and tastes sweet, thanks to the sugar, but still has that bitter 'instant coffee' flavor sneaking through.

As I had this drink iced, to me it was just like any iced coffee you’d get at your local café (minus the ice cream), so nothing special but definitely better than a hot instant coffee.

In all honesty it seems like the appeal for this drink comes mostly from the way it looks behind a camera.

The videos online, with calming music and quick transitions, make the process appear a lot faster and easier than it actually is in reality.

For that reason, whether you’re keen to try it for the taste, or you’re hoping to go viral on TikTok, it looks like this trend is here to stay.

Header Image: Marie Gooley