logo
cuppacocoa
April 1, 2021

This content may use referral links. Read my disclosure policy for more info.

Instant Coffee + sugar + hot water. Blend. Dollop onto milk.
So. Good.

I was pretty sure I was the last person to hear about this delightful coffee concoction, but when I texted a photo to one of my friend groups last year, 4 of the 5 didn’t know what it was. When I posted it to my IG account, enough people asked what it was that I decided there were definitely more people that needed to know about it. And bloggers don’t let readers miss out on recipes that are both super easy and super yummy (and extremely Instagrammable). So I wrote this post up for y’all, and then… I forgot about it? I don’t know what happened, but here we are a year later, and I will now think of this as my “1-yr anniversary with Dalgona Coffee” celebratory post. If you haven’t tried it yet, this coffee whip is everything you are hoping it would be: creamy and frothy (without using any cream), tasty, and EASY.

It’s been about a year now since I started making it. As we had all started to adjust to the new normal of hunkering down at home last spring, I watched the world learn new things: how to bake banana bread, how to bake sourdough, and how to make Dalgona coffee. Dal-what?? What was this beautiful creation, and how could I get it in my life?!

It’s really as easy as this picture says:

I use Bustelo instant coffee and 1 tablespoon of sugar (I prefer my milk tea with 50-75% sugar, for reference)

The ingredients are easy to procure, and it’s a texture and taste I would pay good money for. But I don’t have to! You can totally make this at home!

What do I use to blend it?

The main question is how you plan to blend the coffee whip. If you have a hand immersion blender with a whisk attachment, I definitely recommend that. It’s what I use, and it takes about 30 seconds to whip up (unless you’re ridiculous like me and try to do it one-handed while taking a video and end up splattering it on everything within a 2 ft radius).

If you don’t have a hand immersion blender with whisk attachment, the most common recommendation seems to be to use a hand mixer (but you’d have to wash a big bowl afterwards) or a milk frother. Though… if you have a milk frother, I wonder if you might be too fancy for instant coffee. Then again, I have a milk frother and I still like this particular drink very much.

The other option is to use a wire whisk and blend it manually. I’ve read online that it is taking people upwards of 20 minutes when using a whisk, and someone even told me it took an hour. And I honestly couldn’t imagine why. Maybe he tried a little bit of liquid in a big bowl? So I tried it myself and timed it, just so I could tell you here.

First I put the ingredients into a glass, then spun the whisk around with my hands like I was trying to start a fire. I stopped when it was about 3-4x the volume of the original mixture, which took exactly 5 minutes. I dolloped half of the coffee whip into a glass of milk for Ben, and the other half for myself. Stir, sip, and…

It was delicious!!! True, the final result is *slightly* less pretty, but it tasted just as good and still had that wonderful creamy texture. Honestly. And if you were willing to do the fire-starter method for longer (maybe tag team with someone), you could probably get more volume/fluffiness. But I don’t think it’s necessary.

So if the lack of a hand mixer or milk frother or hand immersion blender is keeping you from trying this, and you don’t have 20 minutes of whisking strength in your arms, then try this fire-starter whisking method!

Also, make sure you stir everything up nicely before you drink it to get that whipped texture mixed in, and use your fat boba straw to get nice big gulps of that creaminess!

December 30, 2020

Back in May, when we were all trying to figure out how to stay sane while staying home all the time, I decided to make DIY milk tea kits for some friends. A lot of our favorite milk tea places, like Boba Guys, were temporarily closed and I thought this would be a nice way to add some delight to a very difficult time. I make milk tea at home all the time, so it’s not unusual for me to have a jar of simple syrup ready to go in the fridge and my favorite tea leaves (specifically for milk tea) in the cupboard. I’ve learned over time that you can’t just substitute milk or condensed milk in willy nilly; you have to have a really rich and creamy milk component or the whole thing will come out unsatisfyingly watery.

But if it’s your first time trying it, all these components can be mini hurdles that make the whole endeavor kind of frustrating: figuring out which tea leaves actually work well in a milk tea, the annoyance of boiling up and cooling down some simple syrup, and learning the hard way that even your whole milk is not creamy enough to give your milk tea the body you were hoping for.

So I tried to make a kit that would be as user-friendly as possible! Inspiration came easily, as Boba Guys had just published The Boba Book (aff. link)! It could not have been more well timed: Their shops weren’t open, but now we had the secrets to their magical concoctions at our fingertips!

This book is fantastic. I have especially enjoyed their recipes for Classic Milk Tea and Roasted Banana Milk!

After ordering their recommended tea leaves, I tried out their recipe and it really hit the spot! I knew I wanted to share it with more people, so I ordered more packs of tea and made kits including bottles of premade house syrup and half and half. Finally, I made little instruction cards to print out and include with the kit.

Print these simple instructions out on cardstock, cut in half, and tuck into your kit!

All of the required ingredients for the Classic Milk Tea are included in the kit (except the optional toppings… apologies to the boba lovers!). If your friend runs out of syrup, instructions are included to make more. But at least for their first few go arounds, the pre-made bottle of syrup should make things a bit easier!

To make the kits, I ordered a set of these cute bottles on Amazon (affiliate link). They’re kinda pricey, but pretty packaging makes my heart sing, and I needed all the uplifting I could get back in May! Plus, I have used the extra bottles a ton since then to store my own syrups, condensed milk, lemon juice, salad dressing, etc. at home. They’re great!

Next, I boiled a large batch of house syrup, let it cool, and divvied them out into the jars. I bought a half gallon of half and half and filled up more jars, and then put together the kits with the tea leaves and instructions. Voila! Happiness in a little box! I made sure my friends were home when dropping them off so they could refrigerate the liquids immediately. This part was not hard, since everybody was home. All. The. Time. (And we’ve all been back at home again for the last month! What’s the situation where you live? I’m *SUUUUPER* curious to hear how it is in other states and countries!!).

And that was it! Spreading sunshine, one milk tea kit at a time! Happily, the Boba Guys shops have re-opened, but if you don’t have one near you, you can recreate their delicious drink in your own home! Whether you decide to make your own sets of kits to share with friends or attempt to make some milk tea for yourself, I really hope this can bring some cheer and delight to YOU in what has been a very difficult year!

I hope you are all well, and I would love to hear from you and and how you are doing and managing during this unprecedented year. Hope you had a happy holiday, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May 25, 2020

This content may use referral links. Read my disclosure policy for more info.

Ice + cold brew + milk + condensed milk.

It doesn’t get much easier than that.

It is supposed to get blazingly hot the next two days here, and I’m ready and prepped with my cold brew to make my favorite Vietnamese iced coffee. Once you have your cold brew ready, it’s just a matter of dumping ingredients together and shaking them up until it’s got a wonderful layer of frothy goodness ready for sipping (or gulping!). It is so, so good, and if you have never tried making it, this is as good a time as any!

If cold brew sounds very fancy to you, just think of it like this: Tea is usually leaves steeped in hot water for a few minutes. Cold brew is simply ground coffee steeped in tepid water for a few hours. And then it lasts in your fridge for like a month. I like to use ground coffee from Cafe Bustelo to make a big batch:

I’ve actually shared this recipe before, and in the last five years I have found no way to improve upon it, so please check out the original recipe to get more frothy details! What I really want to talk about here today is my mason jar setup. Specifically, my mason jar lids:

I have wanted to share about my mason jar lids for a long time now, but it always seems like a really silly thing to write about: “Guys, I have plastic lids for my big mason jars and they makes me SO HAPPY.”

But that’s the truth of it. I have reached that part of life where I have a favorite baking spatula and favorite cooking turner. When I discovered that the lid from my cast iron pot fit perfectly over my cast iron frying pan, I was absolutely elated. I might have done a little happy dance. A good pair of kitchen shears that come apart nicely for the dishwasher brings me great satisfaction, and I have never been more pleased to own reusable straws. It’s the little things, guys.

Which brings me to these plastic lids. I have a set of wide-mouth mason jars that I use all the time (why are they 10x the price on Amazon?!), and a set of plastic wide-mouth lids that I pair them with. Together, they live in my tupperware drawer, and get just as much use as my expensive Snapware does. I use them to store leftover soup, shake up milk tea, shake up iced coffee, make overnight oats, store watermelon juice, etc. They’re also handy for storing dried goods in the pantry, like leftover dried pasta or those last few handfuls of pretzels or Cheez-its.

read more
March 27, 2020

This content may use referral links. Read my disclosure policy for more info.
Scroll to bottom for quick recipes.

Sweet, creamy, full-bodied, delicious milk tea that you can make at home!

I have been making my own milk tea at home for years. I have also been buying it at one of the many delicious local tea shops in the area for years. I feel like a new milk tea shop opens up nearby every month or two, and we are so spoiled for options! I honestly love both, but right now, I don’t have a lot of options. We are staying home, and I’m guessing a lot of you are, too.

In group texts, my friends and I talk consistently about 1) homeschooling, 2) the status of crowds at our local grocery stores, and 3) milk tea. While milk tea may not be one of the important things missing in our lives right now, it is definitely a noticeable one. That’s bound to happen with anything that was a regular, habitual, delightful part of your life, right? One of my friends even bought a gallon full of milk tea from a local tea shop so she could have a ready supply at home (and minimize going out to get more). Another one–from a totally different friend group–is thinking about doing the same thing! I’m telling you, we are serious milk tea drinkers.

So if you, like us, are looking for ways to satisfy your milk tea cravings but are also trying to minimize the number of trips you take out into the world, then I am here to help! Here are the three milk teas I make on the regular:

  1. Taiwan Style Milk Tea: This one is most similar to what most boba shops offer. It is the classic sweetened tea + creamer combo. I like to make it in big batches and have my own liter of it in the refrigerator, available for easy consumption.
  2. Hong Kong Milk Tea: This recipe uses brown sugar and evaporated milk. It is full bodied and delicious!
  3. Hong Kong Milk Tea II: This recipe simply calls for strong tea + condensed milk, which acts as both the sweetener and the milk component. My aunt in HK gave me a huge supply of special blend tea leaves so this one has been my go-to these days. YUM.

All of these recipes have been approved by many hardcore milk tea drinkers with fancy milk tea palettes, so it’s worth giving a try!

The main thing for any of these recipes is to get the right type of tea leaves. I’ve tried substituting with Oolong, Sun Moon Lake, green, and other black tea leaves thinking it should be pretty similar, but haven’t quite figured out the formula for those yet. Actually, just yesterday, I experimented with Sun Moon Lake tea leaves I had purchased from Ten Ren, and accidentally made it so strong I couldn’t sleep until 3am. (Sorry, family, for the grouchiness that happened today). It didn’t even taste that great. So, tea leaves matter.

Also make sure you measure properly–especially the amount of water. Eight ounces is probably less than you think, and it can be tempting to add more water in an attempt to make more milk tea… but then you’ll end up with a watery milk tea and that’s not gonna hit the spot. Simply double the recipe if you need more. I usually do.

Below, you’ll find my three favorite recipes. I tried to keep it short and sweet, but you can click on the title link for more detailed posts!

read more
September 2, 2019

(Scroll to bottom for recipe)

If you’re thinking I’ve already blogged about milk tea before, you are 100% correct! Taiwan style milk tea and Hong Kong style milk tea have already been covered here. But now I have another recipe/variation for the HK milk tea, and it is so delicious and easy! Possibly even simpler than the 4-ingredient recipe I shared before. The previous recipe uses individual tea bags, evaporated milk, and sugar. This one uses loose leaf tea and condensed milk. Both delicious– just different.

Like before, this recipe was fine-tuned because I was intent on perfecting it to serve to discerning friends with very refined milk tea palettes (oh yes, there is such a thing). Last Saturday, we invited a bunch of friends over for one of my favorite annual gatherings: a Summer Recital. Please allow me to take a little detour here so I can tell you more about this event (or just skip to the bottom for the recipe)!

read more
February 22, 2017

At first, I had big dreams for all the traditions we would keep each year with each new holiday, season, and event. Balloons for birthdays, gingerbread houses each Christmas, planting seeds in the spring, camping every summer, pumpkin patches in the autumn. I had lists of food to go with each season, imagining a feast to ring in each bloom, sweltering afternoon, falling leaf, and raindrop (aka winter in California).

But Groundhog Day would come and go, and no garden would be planted. We have yet to go camping as a family, and we only finally made it out to a pumpkin patch this past autumn. I felt like I was failing at traditions, and didn’t want to set anymore tradition-y goals lest I disappoint anyone (mostly myself) by not continuing them the following year.

Then one cool autumn afternoon, I decided to set my bar to very achievable, but still delicious and came up with this idea: We’d celebrate every new season with a beverage! Lemonade for summer, spiced apple cider in the autumn, hot cocoa in the winter, and… I’m still working on the spring drink. Any suggestions? I only have a month left!

read more

October 20, 2016

pumpkin-spice-latte-recipe

I’m not that good about checking my Facebook messages, so it was a couple days later before I saw my friend Angie’s message: “I wanted to share a recipe and write about pumpkin because I love pumpkin and I thought your blog could use something pumpkin.

It’s true. She loves it. This is definitely not the first year I’ve seen pumpkins take over her posts on Facebook, and I gotta say, I love the way she goes all in on the season!

By the time I finished reading the recipe, I was dyinggg to try it out. So I did, and it is DELISH. I deviated from the instructions a bit and added my coffee to the pot of milk and pumpkin and then used a hand immersion blender to blend it all together. So good. I’m making it again tomorrow! I will say the first 98% of it was really smooth, but there was a little bit of pumpkin residue at the bottom of my cup. Maybe my Vitamix blender would have prevented that? Not sure, but it’s not going to stop me from making it again! Try this out and let me know if you love it! 


Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe
Guest post by Angie L.

Fall is my favorite season. Two of my favorite things about fall are pumpkin and pumpkin spice latte. When I went to coffee shops for pumpkin spice lattes, I didn’t enjoy the pumpkin spice lattes as much as I’d like because they were loaded with sugar and I couldn’t taste much pumpkin. So, I was on a mission to make the perfect homemade cup of pumpkin spice latte.

read more

August 19, 2015

Easy Frozen Hot Chocolate Recipe 0

Because it’s 100 degrees.

And because it tastes wonderful.

And because there is no Serendipity 3 near my home.

And who doesn’t want frozen hot chocolate made the way it’s done in an ice cream parlor?!

And did you know you were paying $8.95 for 6 oz. milk + cocoa + sugar + ice?! Cuz that’s all it takes to make this incredibly satisfying, throat-cooling, hit-the-chocolate-spot treat!

Easy Frozen Hot Chocolate Recipe 1

The proportions on this recipe are perfect. Enjoy!

read more

August 4, 2015

How to Make Vietnamese Iced Coffee

This stuff is so good. So, so, so good, and so easy to shake together in the morning! That’s right, I like to shake my iced coffee, boba-shop style :). From my relatively small batch of cold brew (I only made 8 cups of it, compared to The Pioneer Woman’squarts!), I’ve been able to make creamy, scrumptious Vietnamese iced coffee for myself a few times, my husband a few times, my mom, and my friend Jamie! They all really enjoyed it, and I think you will, too!

The main thing that makes this coffee Vietnamese is the condensed milk (pictured left), not to be confused with evaporated milk (pictured right):
             

While they are both canned dairy products, condensed milk is a thick, oozy, super sweet product that has a completely different effect than evaporated milk, which just tastes like rich milk to me. I use it for things like my Hong Kong Milk Tea. You cannot substitute one for the other. Condensed milk is the stuff you drizzle over your shaved snow, shaved ice, or use in key lime pie. Evaporated milk is more similar to half-and-half. Be sure to get the right one!

As for the “splash” ingredient, The Pioneer Woman recommends half-and-half, but I have experimented with splashing in both heavy cream and then whole milk, and I liked it equally well both ways.

After you’ve added all your ingredients, be sure to stir it up really well, otherwise the condensed milk settles on the bottom and it gets too sweet at the end (or the beginning, if you’re using a straw)… although I guess if it came down to it, you could just add more coffee and milk and then enjoy some more of this scrumptious beverage! :). If you like your iced coffee creamy and sweet, you have to try this recipe. So easy, so delicious!!

read more

August 1, 2015

How to make cold brew coffee (9)

I stumbled upon this cold-brew recipe a few years ago and was dying to try it. But I disciplined myself and kept putting it off due to being pregnant or nursing. But my will eventually crumbled (years of pregnancy and nursing will do that to you) and I finally gave it a go! Now I daily face the temptation of sweet, delicious iced coffee every day in my refrigerator… ai yah. What have I done. But it’s SO GOOD! And SO EASY. You can just use the recipe linked above, but it’s kind of long so I figured I’d break the basic information down into two parts: 1) How to make a simple cold brew (this post), and 2) A great recipe for Vietnamese iced coffee using your cold brew (post coming soon!). YUMMMMYYYY!!!!!!

How to make cold brew coffee (2)

Back when I first read the recipe, I mentally boiled down the 1,242-word post down to these simple directions: steep coffee grounds in water. I guess nowadays the hip term for this process is making cold brew. It’s such an easy way to prepare coffee, and results in a smooth, less-acidic coffee after. After you filter out the grounds, then BOOM. There’s your cold brew. Done. Now you have coffee concentrate at your fingertips, ready to refresh you morning after morning! I love her idea of making a big batch so all you have to do in the days (or weeks) to follow is pour it over a bit of ice and really, you can be done. Anything to keep the mornings more simple!

After making your batch of cold brew, check out this recipe (link will work soon 🙂works!) for a great Vietnamese coffee using condensed milk. MMMM. Soooo creamy, perfectly sweet, and delicious! Enjoy!

read more