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.)