Fluffy coffee: Flopped trend or worthy recipe?

Kodee Christensen
April 13, 2020

Fluffy. Whipped. Dolgona. Whatever you call it, we’ve all seen it by now. The craze, which has South Korean roots and was made famous on TikTok, has taken the internet by storm. Thanks to the trend, coffee connoisseurs and aesthetics activists alike are living their best lives.

But is it even any good?

I’m here to set the record straight and give you the truth about Fluffy Coffee, step by step.

The recipe calls for equal parts of instant coffee, granulated sugar and hot water. (To those asking if it absolutely has to be instant coffee, the answer is yes. See the last picture for my attempt with regular ground coffee.) For one serving, I recommend 2 tablespoons of each. I made enough for my two roommates and I so I used 6 tablespoons of each.

To begin, put the instant coffee and granulated sugar together in a bowl. I used a medium-sized glass bowl, but for smaller batches, a cereal bowl would work just fine.

What you need: This easy recipe only calls for three ingredients (not including milk and ice.) A tablespoon, a whisk or electric mixer, a mixing bowl and something to heat the water will be the only tools you need.

To heat the water, I used our tea kettle, but microwaving however much you need in a glass measuring cup until hot would also get the job done.

After pouring the water into the coffee and sugar mixture, I used the electric mixer on a medium speed setting. You can also use a whisk, but it will just take a little longer.

Mix it up: Instant coffee, granulated sugar and hot water are all that has to go into Fluffy Coffee. As the ingredients are mixed, it will expand to better fit whatever bowl you use, so choose accordingly.

As you do that, the mixture will start to thicken up and change from a dark brown shade to a light tan shade. For that desired fluffy consistency, mixing until removal results in stiff peaks.

Shady stuff: The longer you mix, the darker the coffee mixture becomes. The desired shade is the light tan and the desired consistency is thick enough to create stiff peaks.
Dollop of dolgona: The last step is the add the fluffy mixture to a glass of iced milk. The name “dolgona” comes from a Korean candy made from sugar and baking soda.

Fill a glass about ¾ of the way full of milk and drop in a few ice cubes. Spoon the coffee fluff on top to either level with the top of the glass or heaping (depending on how strong you want your drink.)

Swirl on top: Your end product should look something like this. To avoid a sugary coffee stache, mix the fluff into the milk until fully combined and enjoy with a straw!

And you’re done! For best taste, I recommend stirring the coffee fluff into the milk until the two are evenly mixed. (But not before you get that insta-worthy picture!)

To answer the question, Does it even taste good? I say yes! As a former barista and someone who drinks all kinds of coffee, from black with cream to blended with chocolate, I give Fluffy Coffee a 10/10 rating.

Do not attempt: If you’re wondering if regular ground coffee works just as well as instant coffee, take my word for it: it doesn’t. I had to see for myself, and it resulted in a substance that is a far cry from the fluff achieved with instant coffee.

If you’ve been wrestling with the idea of whether or not this is a bandwagon worth hopping onto, this is your permission to hop away. It’s easy, delicious and quite frankly adorable.

Edited by Diana Martinez-Ponce, Hannah Alleyne