Make Dalgona Caffeine-Free with this easy Homemade Dalgona Recipe Without Coffee! Fluffy and ultra creamy, this popular Korean drink can be enjoyed hot or cold!
HOMEMADE DALGONA COFFEE WITHOUT COFFEE
HELLO BBS!! 🙂 Today we’re making Dalgona Coffee! *But* we’re making it coffee-free (and caffeine-free!). So yea, we’re making Dalgona Coffee Without Coffee which may sound ridiculous but look, I can’t have coffee but I really wanted to try Dalgona because I love pretty drinks so I had to come up with a solution lol.
So. For this Dalgona we’ll use barley coffee instead of regular coffee. I don’t know if you’re familiar with barley-coffee but it’s absolutely genius and it should be *way* more popular! It’s basically an alternative to coffee: it’s made with barley and is 100% caffeine-free!
What does it taste like? It’s similar to coffee but less strong and bitter. It actually tastes really good, you should definitely give it a try if you can’t have coffee or are trying to cut down your caffeine intake!
I personally can’t have coffee because my liver will tell me to f*ck off if I drink it (not because of caffeine though, I can do caffeine). It’s kinda weird because I can down half a bottle of Vodka with no problems at all but a sip of coffee? I won’t eat for 3 days (it actually happened, I lived off cold drinks and cold cream cheese for 3 days lol).
Well, problem solved. This Dalgona is 100% coffee-free and caffeine-free. I can have it every single day. And it’s super easy to make too!
WHAT IS DALGONA COFFEE AND THE STORY BEHIND IT
It’s basically a huge glass of milk topped with dollops of whipped coffee. In this case, we’ll use barley to keep it coffe-free and caffeine-free.
Who made Dalgona popular? A South Korean actor! Dalgona coffee became popular in 2020 when Jung II-woo ordered a whipped coffee at an eatery during his appearance on a popular Korean tv show. He compared the taste of the drink to that of Dalgona (a type of Korean honeycomb toffee) and people started referring to it as “Dalgona Coffee”!
South Korean Youtubers started uploading Dalgona ASMR recipe videos on Youtube and people from all over the world started catching up with the trend and took it to TikTok where it turned into a challenge where people would film themselves making their own Dalgona at home. It went viral and turned into a thing, followed by other food-related trends like pancake cereals, etc.
HOW DO YOU MAKE DALGONA AT HOME?
- Whip equal parts of instant barley, hot water, and powdered sugar until fluffy. I recommend using a hand-held mixer for this step because it’ll make the process much easier and quicker. I tried using a mini milk frother and it *kinda* worked but it took much longer and the cream didn’t get as thick and fluffy but if that’s the only thing you have at home, you can definitely still use it. You can also do this by hand using a whisk but it’s going to take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes and you have to whip really hard, it’s basically an arm workout, not fun lol.
- Pour milk into a glass. You can use any milk and you can use hot milk for a hot drink or cold drink… you guessed it… for a cold drink!
- Top with dollops of whipped barley.
- Mix and enjoy your Dalgona! 🙂
IS DALGONA COFFEE GOOD?
Yes! It’s basically milk topped with dollops of fluffy whipped coffee or in this case barley. I like it cold but you can also make it into a hot drink! Cold Dalgonas taste a bit like coffee ice cream!
IS DALGONA COFFEE BETTER HOT OR COLD?
It’s up to you to decide! If you like cold milk-based drinks, you’ll love cold Dalgona but if you’re more into cozy drinks then I recommend trying hot Dalgona! 🙂
I hope you’ll love this South Korean drink as much as I do! Please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating if you make it! I LOVE hearing from you! 💘
OH! YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE MY:
- Best Mochi Brownies
- Homemade Tapioca Pearls aka Boba Pearls
- Chocolate Pretzel Tart
- 5 Ingredient Chocolate Lava Cakes
Dalgona Coffee Without Coffee
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp instant barley
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp hot water
- 1 cup any milk
- Ice cubes optional, for a cold drink
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add the instant barley, powdered sugar, and hot water. Using a hand-held mixer, whip until fluffy and creamy and the sugar has completely dissolved (about 3-4 minutes). Start on low speed and gradually increase to medium-high as you whip. You can also use a mini milk frother or a whisk but it will take much longer (10-15 minutes).
- Fill a glass or cup with your favorite type of milk, add ice cubes for a cold drink, and then top with dollops of whipped barley. Add a straw and mix the whipped barley into the milk before drinking.
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