Dalgona originates in South Korea, and it is made of just three ingredients: sugar, water, and instant coffee. The coffee drink is allegedly named for a Korean street food that uses sugar and baking soda. The sweet concoction involves a glass of ice-cold milk topped with the frothy coffee creation. When stirred together, the coffee drink resembles a Starbucks Frappuccino.  

Photos and videos of the unique brew are going viral. If you want to get in on the action, here’s how to make it yourself. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp instant coffee 
• 2 tbsp hot water 
• 2 tbsp sugar 
• Milk 

Directions: 

Using a whisk, fork, or hand mixer, whisk together the coffee, water, and sugar. After just a couple of minutes, the mixture will begin to froth up. As air enters the concoction, it will become pillowy, resembling chocolate mousse. Once you’ve achieved the desired texture, pour milk into a glass and top with the coffee fluff. Mix together for a cool, delicious, and easy pick-me-up – either to start your day or beat a mid-day slump.  

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In most countries, whether they produce coffee, truck, rail, and container deliveries have either been put on hold or have become subject to greater security measures. Just a few months into the global near-lockdown, sellers and buyers are already seeing significant delays. This will only increase as time wears on.  

In mid-March, coffee futures jumped significantly, by 11 percent, after reports that stevedores in Brazil would strike indefinitely. Prices have since stabilized, but they are still higher than usual. While services in warehouses and offices across the country are not likely to change much, shipment delays are to be expected. Most major coffee providers are drafting contingency plans, and employees are working from home wherever possible.  

These supply-chain disruptions come amidst a strong retail coffee demand. People around the world are beginning to stock up on shelf-stable products, and coffee is one of the most sought-after options. Soaring premiums in the markets are beginning to deter traders from delivering to the exchange where there is little, if any, markup. Put simply, people are currently willing to pay a lot for a bag of coffee, which means consumer prices are likely to rise significantly in the coming months.  

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There are two primary influences on the cost per cup of coffee: staff labor and the cost of the beans. Labor costs are generally the same no matter what coffee you’re preparing (aside from the several laborious manual brew methods). So, the biggest influencer in those hyper-expensive coffees are the beans themselves.

Most coffees you’ll drink in your local shop only vary by a few dollars per bag. For the sake of consistency, the price is often absorbed by the roaster or the café owner. However, some prices will spike significantly, such as during auction, which may allow the cost to jump to well over 10 times the normal price. Some shops will have “MP,” or “market price,” listed next to certain pour-over options—this is where that number and variation come from.

However, most coffees, even those auctioned, won’t reach crazy heights; generally, a menu will have options ranging from $4 to $7 per cup. There are a number of factors which will influence this additional variance: the coffee is rare; it’s of exceptional quality; it’s from a famous farm; it’s from a low-yielding farm; it’s a delicious varietal &c. Additionally, fair trade and good labor conditions may impact the cost of a coffee. Top-end coffees may work to produce a more sustainable economic model in its community of origin, leading to a greater market price.

So, is that $10 coffee worth it? The answer is tricky: talk to your barista. Ask them, point-blank, why the coffee is so expensive. If it’s rare, it may be worth the $10. If it supports sustainable business models, try it out. If, however, the mark-up is for exceptional taste, non-snobs might want to opt for a cheaper option. It’ll likely taste excellent, but the difference between a $6 and a $10 cup of coffee won’t be too extreme.

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1. Dark roast has more caffeine.

Most people think the lighter color means lighter caffeine, but the exact opposite is true. A longer roast creates a rich, robust flavor, but it also reduces the caffeine content.  Lightly roasted coffee beans maintain more density and naturally occurring caffeine.

2. Light coffee roast is less complex.

At a lower temperature for a shorter time, light roasts keep more acidity and flavor from their origin. In contrast, dark roasts emphasize the roast profile rather than the flavor of the bean. The coffee’s flavor is indicative of the roaster’s ability to create a sweet, decadent taste with a less complex profile.

3. Strong coffee is created during the roasting.

Contrary to popular belief, coffee strength is determined by the ratio of grounds to water during the brewing, NOT during the roasting. The person behind the coffee machine determines whether the coffee will be strong or weak. Just because a dark roast may taste bitter doesn’t necessarily mean it’s stronger.

4. Espresso is its own special kind of coffee roast or bean.

Espresso gets its telltale strength from the brewing process. Beans are ground finely to be used in the preparation of espresso, which is created using a highly pressurized, specially-designed machine with finely ground coffee beans. It can be brewed with light, medium or dark roasted coffee. Any roast can make for a delicious cup of espresso. It comes down to personal preference.

5. Bold coffee is the same thing as dark roast.

Here, too, the boldness depends on how the coffee is brewed. Simply enough, for a bold cup of coffee, you’ll need a higher coffee to water ratio when brewing. What makes it bold is the fact that there’s more coffee jammed into that one cup, giving it more caffeine and a stronger flavor. But again, a bold cup of coffee can be made with light, medium or dark roasted coffee.

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Clean the portafilters. This is the first step in the cleaning process. Place half a scoop of cleaning chemical in each filter basket, then insert the portafilters into the group head. Dispense water from the group for 30 seconds. Remove the portafilters and rinse using the water tap on the espresso machine. Remove the basket and wipe clean all over. Both the group handle and basket should be free of oil at this point. Then, use your bench cloth to wipe the group head seals, but be careful—they’re likely hot.

Backflush. Cleaning the internal parts of an espresso machine can be tricky. You’ll need to follow a process called “back-flushing.” Every tie the pump of a coffee machine turns off after making espresso, the machine draws a bit of coffee and water back inside the group head. Back-flushing with chemicals will help to remove any oils or grime which build up in the internal piping.

To clean, place half a scoop of cleaning chemical in each blind filter basket. Insert portafilters into the group head and lock it tightly. Activate the group heads for ten seconds, then deactivate them for ten seconds. Cycle the group heads on and off five times, then remove the blind portafilters and dispense water from the group head for ten seconds. Rinse out the blind portafilters. Repeat the backflush process without chemicals to rinse the machine.

Clean your group heads. Depending on your machine, the shower screens of the group heads may be held in place by a screw. If this is the case, you’ll need to drop the shower screen to clean it—grime will build up daily. Additionally, you’ll need to clean the rubber seals with a cloth.

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There are many factors that go into the price of a pound of coffee, and certainly you can find many types of organic coffee that aren’t as expensive as inorganic coffee. A high-quality, hard-to-cultivate Arabica will more than likely cost more than a widely available Robusta coffee. But, nevertheless, pound-for-pound, dollar-for-dollar, and bean-for-bean, organic coffee tends to be more expensive.

There’s a reason for this added cost, and it’s probably not what you think. Many people assume the cost has something to do with the natural fertilizers and pesticides, but the bigger factor is that coffee is naturally a shaded plant. This means organic coffee is also planted, cultivated, and harvested in forested areas. This limits the types of land that can be used or else increases the planting time, but an even bigger factor is that the coffee can’t be planted as densely and the total cultivation costs are higher for the yield.

There’s also the question of taste. Organic coffee grown naturally in the shade of trees has a slightly different quality to its taste, but trying to pick out this influence among dozens of other factors takes a sensitive and experienced palette. It also doesn’t compare to things like freshness and proper storage. But there you have it. Hopefully, this explanation has helped you understand the difference between organic and inorganic coffee.

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Free trade coffee is coffee that is produced, transported, and sold outside these industry rules and trade regulations. Many of these rules and regulations are determined by the North America Free Trade Agreement, but the letter of the law and its enforcement in the coffee industry is far from 100% effective and accurate when designating free and fair trade coffee. Moreover, just because a coffee producer chooses to operate outside the particular rules and regulations to make their coffee doesn’t mean they’re actively engaged in malicious treatment of their workers or the local ecosystem. In Hawaii, California, and parts of the southern United States, you can also find smaller, local coffee farmers who bring their product directly to market.

With all that being said, fair trade coffee generally tends to be a more socially-conscious way of being a coffee drinker/consumer, but it’s far from a global game-changer and may not make any difference at all when it comes to individual coffee bean purchases. With coffee, as with so many things, the saying goes, “Fair trade isn’t fair, and free trade isn’t free.” There may or may not be a significant difference in the cost of the coffee—the other major consideration of the average coffee consumer.

Some geopolitical consequences on the coffee industry go well beyond trade policies and labeling certification. One of the places known for delicious and distinctive coffee is Yemen, for example. But with the geopolitical strife in that part of the world, it’s not always feasible to safely get the coffee out of Yemen. As a remedy, some coffee producers have transplanted the native Yemen beans to Hawaii coffee fields.

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Know the Type of Bean

There are mainly two different kinds of coffee beans: Arabica and Robusta. Arabica tends to be sweeter and easier to drink, despite its relatively high acidity. Arabica coffee beans are grown in higher altitudes, produce fewer beans, and more vulnerable. For these reasons, it’s also consistently more expensive than Robusta beans. That said, many coffees are made with a hybrid of the two beans.

There are also Liberica coffee beans, which are typically considered to be of lower quality and comprise barely 1 percent of the global coffee bean market. There are even rarer types of coffee, such as the world’s most expensive coffee, kopi luwak, which is processed from the poop of a cat-like animal in Indonesia that first digests and then defecates the beans.

Color, Consistency, and Body

This is coffee’s most commonly known and advertised qualities. The color can be light, medium or dark with light roasts typically having higher caffeine content and retain more of the original flavor of the bean. Darker roasts tend to take on more of their flavor from the actual roasting process. The beans can be dry (milder, sweeter), or they can be oily (stronger, bitter). The “body” of the coffee bean refers to how heavy the coffee sits in your mouth. A “full body” coffee feels heavier in the mouth, a “light body” coffee feels lighter.

Freshness vs. Convenience vs. Cost

The freshness of the coffee, determined by time and storage method, is also a huge factor in the overall quality of the bean. Maxwell House, for example, uses 100% Arabica beans in its most popular line of coffee. While this does make for great-tasting coffee out of a can, the freshness and overall quality can’t compete with the freshness achieved by coffee shops, even Robusta-dominant blends. Likewise, local—or even regional coffee producers—are able to get their beans to your local market or coffee shop that much faster.

Another huge factor in freshness is grinding your own coffee beans. The best-tasting results, without a doubt, will come from freshly ground beans. Even a few hours after being ground, there’s almost surely going to be a noticeable difference in the beans. On the other hand, this can also be a matter of cost and convenience. Inexpensive grinders can be hard to clean and/or not last very long. Expensive grinders eat into your budget for other coffee equipment and goodies. I, personally, will sometimes get my coffee pre-ground, but then I’m lucky enough to live two blocks from a great, local coffee shop. So I will buy pre-ground coffee 1/3 lb at a time and then be sure to use it within 48 hours.

Because Arabica vs. Robusta, light vs. dark, light-body vs. full-body, low vs. high acidity, dry vs. oily, there are a lot of ways to drink great coffee. The trick, as always, is to experiment and find out what you like best when choosing your coffee bean.

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You might consider investing in a cold brew jug with a built in strainer, but you can use pretty much any clean, glass container for cold brew and then pour the coffee over a filter, cheesecloth, or fine-tooth strainer.

The Big, Health Advantage to Cold Brew Coffee

The average American diet is already highly acidic. Throw in a normal amount of stress, and it’s no wonder that the condition affects about a quarter of the population, to say nothing of the people who experience mild, intermittent episodes of heartburn. Looking for a low-acidity coffee? It’s not just the kind of bean you choose, or whether you drink coffee drinks or cappuccino drinks. The lowest acidity options are consistently produced through the brewing process itself, and cold brew specifically. Heating the water and coffee during the brewing process significantly increases the acidity level of the coffee.

How to Do the Cold Brew Method Right

The cold brew method may sound so simple that there’s no wrong way to do it, but it does share some of the same fundamentals for making great-tasting coffee: You need to use filtered or otherwise purified water, and you need to use high-quality beans. Don’t forget these two golden rules.

From this point, you can experiment with two big variables. 1) The coarseness of the grind and 2) how long you let the coffee brew. As a default, cold brews generally do better with a coarser grind. My local coffee shop recommends a grind somewhere between the drip coffee and French press settings. Just slightly coarser than medium, in other words. On a 1-10 scale, you probably want to start somewhere around 6 or 7. The finer the coffee grind, the faster it will brew and the sharper it will likely taste. A coarser grind will create a fuller, milder brew. Recommended brew times are generally between 12-24 hours.

Our Method and Motivations for Cold Brew

Personally, I’m a huge cold brew fans. I go with a 7 setting or pretty much right at the French press setting, and I still find that the coffee is brewed to my liking in as little as 15-18 hours. I try to avoid the finer, faster, sharper brews, but I like to keep the process well under 24 hours. This allows me to drink the coffee, wash out the glass jug, and set up the cold brew for the next day. This has allowed me to drink great-tasting coffee on an almost daily basis without any appreciable increase in my acid-reflux.

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The 3 Big Types of Cappuccino Makers

There are dozens and dozens of different models and features, but there are 3 basic types you should know about. Understanding how these machines work and their relative pros and cons can help you understand what you’re looking for in a cappuccino maker and narrow the search to a more manageable list of candidates.

Pod Makers: For those people who like cappuccino drinks, convenience, and affordability, a pod cappuccino maker may be the best answer. In terms of functionality, this works pretty much exactly as it sounds. The maker comes with individual espresso pods that can be inserted and removes the need to manually tamp the ground espresso beans. This is the cheapest of the options, and while the product may still be plenty pleasing to drink, most people will be able to tell the difference between pod cappuccinos and more conventional makers.

Semi-Automatic Makers: These makers are similar to those used by baristas at the local coffee shop. In fact, some of the pricier, higher-end models may be designed and marketed primarily for commercial use. This maker involves the longest learning curve and may produce some of the best—and worst—cappuccino results depending on the operation and condition of the machine. It’s like a gas burner stove in that it gives you more control over the cooking process and is generally preferred by skilled cooks, but which can be less convenient and user-friendly.

If convenience isn’t your top concern, but rather you’re interested in the art and skill of making a cappuccino, this is the type of maker you’ll want.

Super-Automatic Makers: These machines look to combine the convenience of pod makers with the quality cappuccino of semi-automatic makers. More or less, they mostly succeed. While the semi-automatic makers produce the finest quality cappuccinos, they may lack the consistency and reliability of these super-automatic makers. The convenience of these makers goes beyond making the drinks. Most of them also have sophisticated self-cleaning mechanisms. Some super-automatic makers may also have trouble, especially over time, with processing oily coffee beans. Otherwise, the only principal downside is the cost of these cappuccino makers.

Shopping for Your Cappuccino Maker

Once you have a beat on the type of machine you want, the shopping process itself doesn’t differ that much from other consumer purchases. Amazon, Google, and other sources publish reviews as part of their shopping experience. The most popular models are easy to find and updated on a regular basis to show the latest models and products. Here’s one resource and here’s another for some of the latest and greatest cappuccino makers in 2018.

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