What’s This Fluffy Coffee All About?

Coffee, Sugar, and Magic

In every coffee drink, there’s a dash of magic. But Fluffy Coffee, the drink that’s made from instant coffee and popping up everywhere on Instagram, is like a full-on magic show.

It turns out that when instant coffee is whipped with sugar and water, it aerates into a toffee-colored fluff that looks striking when spooned on top of a glass of milk. But just as instant coffee has been around for some time, so too has this drink. Currently, its moniker is Dalgona Coffee, named after a South Korean confection the actor Jung Il-woo compared it to upon tasting the drink in Macau. But long before Dalgona Coffee swept through South Korea’s social sphere, whipped coffee drinks were already a favorite in other parts of the world where instant coffee is common. In South India, it’s known as pheni hui, and in Greece, it’s called frappé.  

Recently Blue Bottle Director of Quality Benjamin Brewer was inspired to test the trend, using our very own instant coffee. Yes, we have a limited edition of our own instant coffee, only available in Japan. Benjamin wanted to see how our Giant Steps, in soluble form, performed. 

It was very good. Instagram-worthy, indeed. But more important, magical in the way that cotton candy was when you were a kid.

 How to Make Fluffy Coffee at Home

• 2 tablespoons instant coffee

• 2 tablespoons water, at 203°F (95°C)

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 cup cold milk

In a bowl, combine the instant coffee, water, and sugar. Using a handheld blender, mix until fluffy. 

Pour the cold milk into a glass and spoon the fluffy mixture on top. (Some people prefer warm milk. You do you.)