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How to Make Whipped Coffee Without Instant Coffee (Easy Steps)

how to make Whipped Coffee without instant coffee

Whipped coffee is all the rage this year, with its distinctive fluffy topping featured in countless TikTok videos. Unless you are in a Korean coffee shop, you might have a hard time tasting Dalgona coffee — unless you try whipping it up (see what we did there?) at home.

Unfortunately, most whipped coffee recipes require you to use instant coffee — something many coffee snobs refuse to drink. So can you make whipped coffee without instant coffee? The answer is yes — as long as you follow a few key guidelines!

Keep reading to learn how to make whipped coffee without instant coffee in just a few easy steps. You’ll be amazed!

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How to Make Whipped Coffee Without Instant Coffee (4 Easy Steps)

Ingredients
Equipment
  • Hand or stand mixer
  • Bowl
  • Tall glass
  • Spoon

1. Combine espresso and sugar in a bowl.

Pour the hot espresso and white sugar into a bowl. Stir the mixture thoroughly.

2. Whip until fluffy.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, carefully whip the espresso and sugar. Be patient! This will take several minutes, and you don’t want to stop too early. When it’s fully whipped, the mixture should have a meringue-like texture and form soft peaks. In our experience, this takes about 5-8 minutes.

3. Pour milk into the glass.

Pour your cold milk into the tall glass. We like to use transparent glasses so you can enjoy the look of this beautiful drink!

whipped coffee without instant coffee
Image credit: Unsplash

4. Spoon the whipped mixture on top.

Spoon the espresso and sugar meringue into the glass so that it sits on top of the milk. That’s it! You will want to enjoy this unique drink immediately — that whipped coffee won’t last forever.

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Whipped Coffee Brewing Tips

The classic dalgona coffee recipe uses instant coffee and hot water. Whisking these with sugar produces a very unique texture, but luckily, espresso and strong coffee work almost as well. The key is using an equal amount of coffee and sugar. If you think about it, hot water and instant coffee together make coffee, so substituting brewed coffee isn’t a huge stretch.

How to make Cortadito at home
A homemade cortadito topped with espuma.

If you’ve ever made a Cuban cortadito, you’ve made something similar. It’s called “espuma,” and to make it, you whip espresso and sugar together until the mixture forms a sweet, caffeinated foam. For the dalgona, you’re just taking the concept further and whipping far beyond the foam level.

What’s up with that cold milk?

Dalgona coffee is typically served on top of a glass of cold milk. You can use any kind of milk for this, including almond milk or oat milk. But if you want a more caffeinated version, you can mix an ounce or two of espresso or strong coffee into the milk. Or skip the milk entirely and fill the glass with iced coffee instead! The one thing you should avoid is using hot coffee or espresso. Your whipped coffee won’t survive on top of a hot drink!

Dalgona
Image Credit: jmexclusives, Pixabay

Can you make whipped coffee without a mixer?

The answer to this one is a qualified no. Unless you’re Hercules, whipping espresso and sugar into a meringue isn’t something you can do by hand. You need to whip intensely for up to 8 minutes without stopping — which is a serious undertaking. Feel free to try this as an arm workout, but we can’t recommend it for your morning drink.

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whipped coffee without instant coffee

Whipped Coffee Without Instant Coffee

Great news: you don't have to use instant coffee to make whipped (dalgona) coffee. You can use espresso or strong coffee instead! You will need to whip the coffee sugar for longer -- about 5 to 8 minutes.
5 stars from 5 votes
Prep Time 2 minutes
Whipping Time 8 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Servings 1 drink(s)
Calories 300 kcal

Equipment

  • Mixer
  • Bowl
  • Tall glass
  • Spoon

Ingredients
 

Instructions
 

  • Pour the hot espresso and white sugar into a bowl.
  • Stir the mixture thoroughly.
  • Using a hand or stand mixer, whip the mixture until it's fluffy. Be patient! This will take several minutes, and you don’t want to stop too early.
  • When it’s fully whipped, the mixture should have a meringue-like texture and form soft peaks. In our experience, this takes about 5-8 minutes.
  • Pour your cold milk into the tall glass. We like to use transparent glasses so you can enjoy the look of this beautiful drink!
  • Now it's time to add the whipped mixture on top. Carefully spoon the espresso and sugar meringue into the glass so that it sits on top of the milk.
  • That’s it! You’ll want to enjoy this unique drink immediately — that whipped coffee won’t last forever.

Nutrition

Calories: 300kcal
Keyword caffeinated, espresso, whipped coffee

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Conclusion

Now you know how to make whipped coffee without instant coffee! Not only is it possible, but it’s also pretty easy — as long as you have a good mixer and plenty of patience. So skip the low-quality instant coffee and use your fancy espresso machine (or Moka pot, or regular drip machine) instead. The results might even taste better than those TikTok originals!

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Featured Image Credit: Jennifer Gauld, Shutterstock

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Kate MacDonnell

Kate is a lifelong coffee enthusiast and homebrewer who enjoys writing for coffee websites and sampling every kind of coffee known to man. She’s tried unusual coffees from all over the world and owns an unhealthy amount of coffee gear.

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