Dirty dalgona matcha latte
My three-layered dirty dalgona matcha latte. This is what the latte looked like after I took a few sips and topped it off with more plain oat milk, which ended up in the center of the glass because the matcha-ed oat milk was denser.
Dirty Dalgona Matcha Latte
Makes one serving.
Ingredients
1 tsp matcha powder
Splash of boiling water for the matcha
Squeeze of honey (optional)
1 tbsp instant coffee granules (I used a packet of decaf granules from Starbucks)
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp boiling water for the coffee
3/4 cup (or however much it takes to fill up your drinking glass) unflavored milky beverage of any kind (cow’s milk, oat milk, almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, hemp milk - these will all work! I used oat milk here).
Ice cubes
Equipment
Teaspoon and cup measurers
Whisk or electric hand beater with whisk attachments (I used a whisk the first time and it took about 20 minutes of beating by hand. The electric hand beater is much faster!)
2 heat-proof bowls for mixing matcha and coffee
Clear drinking glass (doesn’t have to be clear, but it helps with the whole aesthetics of the experience)
Directions
Dump 1 tsp of matcha powder into a heat-proof bowl. Pour in a splash of boiling water - enough to dissolve the matcha. Stir vigorously with a fork or whisk. Add a squeeze of honey if you want the matcha to have some sweetness. Stir until no matcha clumps remain.
In a separate heat-proof bowl, add 1 tbsp of instant coffee granules, 1 tbsp of granulated sugar, and 1 tbsp of boiling water. Whisk or beat on high speed for 10-20 minutes, until the mixture has lightened in color to a golden tan and can hold a stiff whipped peak, like meringue. See the slow-motion video below for a demonstration of how a properly whipped dalgona coffee mixture should look. If it won’t whip up, add a little bit more granulated sugar.
Add ice cubes to your clear drinking glass. Pour in 3/4 cup (or however much it takes to fill your glass) of your unflavored milky beverage. Leave some space at the top of the glass for the whipped coffee mixture.
Pour in matcha mixture. Stir if you want.
Finally, top off the drink with the whipped coffee mixture.
Sip and enjoy! If you want to drink the matcha part first, use a compostable straw. I like to mix everything slightly before drinking. I also like to pour in some extra oat milk after I’ve taken the first few sips.
Dirty dalgona matcha. Yes, it’s a mouthful. And yes, a quick social media investigation will tell you that everyone and their mother has hopped on the dalgona coffee bandwagon since this COVID-19 shelter-in-place started. If you want a matcha-flavored twist to the dalgona trend (but don’t want to add egg whites or heavy whipping cream to achieve that stiff whipped peaks effect), this drink recipe is for you.
Inspired by the recipe in @liahyoo’s IGTV, I whipped up a dirty dalgona matcha latte for myself this afternoon, and what a treat it was. Sweet, slightly bitter, with roasty coffee, fragrant matcha…ahhh, the perfect pick-me-up to save me from “hump day” work-from-home blues. And the process of making it is therapeutic, too: who knew that instant coffee could be whipped into such a delightful foamy concoction? And don’t get me started on the aesthetics - it’s like a quirky reverse-latte, where the liquid part is the milk and the foamy part is the coffee.
I’ve heard conflicting stories re: the origin of dalgona coffee, and I’d love to learn whodunnit first so I can give credit to that genius. Whether you invented dalgona coffee in South Asia or South Korea - major props to you, whoever you are.