Stuck inside with nothing to do? Quarantine blues? Now is the perfect time to get creative and work some self-made barista magic in your home cafe. Below are ten recipes that were inspired by some of the most trendy drinks on social media (here’s looking at you, TikTok).
Cloud Matcha Dalgona
If you haven’t heard of the dalgona by now, you might be living under a rock. A dalgona is a whipped coffee drink made with equal parts hot water, instant coffee, and sugar, that hails from South Korea and was popularized by social media. It was only a matter of time before the non-coffee drinkers would look for an alternative caffeine boost, thus the matcha dalgona was born.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp matcha powder
milk of your choice
1 pasteurized egg white (if you choose to forgo the egg white, the end result won’t be as fluffy)
Steps:
1. Whisk up 1 egg white until soft peaks form.
2. Boil the sugar and water in a pot until it becomes a liquid syrup.
3. Whisk the hot sugar syrup into the egg white mixture.
4. Add the matcha powder to the batter and continue whisking away until fully incorporated.
5. Add ice to a glass and fill with milk, leaving room to add in the matcha dalgona whip.
Butterfly Pea Tea Dalgona
Thanks to social media, people have created various spin-offs of the dalgona drink, and I’m not ashamed to include myself in this population. If corporate life doesn’t work out for me, then I may have a second calling as a barista. Below is my take on the classic dalgona!
Ingredients:
2 tbsp instant coffee
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp hot water
butterfly pea tea
oat milk (feel free to substitute with your choice of milk)
Steps:
1. Brew 1 packet of butterfly pea tea and let it cool down (it’s better if you let the tea sit for a few hours in the refrigerator so that it’s cold).
2. Whisk up the instant coffee, sugar, and hot water until creamy and fluffy.
3. Pour the cold butterfly pea tea over milk and ice to get the light blue base (make sure there is room to add the dalgona whip).
4. Add the dalgona whip and stir!
Thai Tea and Matcha Latte Dalgona
Why do I have so many dalgona recipes in a row? They’re fun to make and because why not?
Ingredients:
1/2 tsp matcha powder
1/3 cup hot water
Thai tea loose leaves or sachets (if you use Thai tea powder mix, you’ll combine this straight with hot water as powder is typically already sweetened)
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 tsp instant coffee
2 tbsp sugar
Steps to make the Thai tea whip:
1. Boil tea leaves or steep sachet in 1/2 cup of hot water. This is to ensure the tea flavor is concentrated.
2. Whisk 2 tbsp of the hot Thai tea, 1/2 tsp of instant coffee and 2 tbsp of sugar until it’s a thick and creamy consistency.
Steps to make the iced matcha latte:
1. Whisk 1/2 tsp matcha powder with 1/3 cup hot water until the powder is fully dissolved and no clumps remain.
2. Pour the milk and matcha over ice (make sure to leave room for the Thai tea whip).
Now bring it all together and pour the Thai tea whip over the matcha latte!
Korean Banana Milk
Who said juice boxes were only for kids? If you’ve never tried Korean banana milk, then I suggest you get yourself a six pack (the Binggrae brand is the most well known)! Those of you who have purchased banana milk before, you’ll know how expensive these milk boxes can be. For my friends who are ballin’ on a budget, you can make your own FRESH Korean banana milk with just a few ingredients and a blender. Feel free to alter any of the measurements or ingredients to your preference!
Ingredients (throw everything into the blender):
1 ripe banana sliced or broken into pieces
1/2 cup regular milk (I used Oatly’s Barista Blend)
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp condensed milk (you can also use maple syrup or honey)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Steps:
1. Blend away!
Butterfly Matcha Latte
Just call me Leonardo Tea Vinci because this is another @worldeatsjen creation, courtesy of having too much time on my hands right now.
Ingredients:
cold brewed butterfly tea
1/2 tsp matcha powder
1/3 cup hot water
barista blend oat milk (you can substitute your choice of milk)
1 tbsp simple syrup (you can substitute for honey)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Steps:
1. Brew 1 packet of butterfly pea tea and let it cool down (it’s better if you let the tea sit for a few hours in the refrigerator so that it’s cold).
2. In a separate bowl, whisk 1/2 tsp matcha powder and 1/3 cup of hot water until the matcha has fully dissolved and all clumps are whisked away. Let the mixture cool down.
3. In a cup full of ice, add the simple syrup and vanilla extract.
4. Pour the matcha over ice and add in milk until it fills 3/4 of the cup.
5. Add the cold butterfly pea tea the remaining 1/4 of the cup and enjoy!
Butterfly Pea Tea Coconut Water
You can tell by now that I may or may not have gone a little overboard with butterfly pea tea, but who can resist the vibrant color?! This refreshing recipe can’t get any simpler than the two ingredients.
Ingredients:
cold brewed butterfly pea tea
coconut water (highly recommend the Harmless Harvest brand because it’s naturally sweeter, but any brand will do)
Steps:
1. Pour the coconut water 3/4 of the cup over ice and fill the remaining 1/4 cup with the cold butterfly pea tea and enjoy!
Iced Tangerine Latte
I must be a mad scientist, I mean barista, but sometimes the most unusual combinations are the tastiest! I was hesitant about mixing milk and tangerines, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised at how delicious this iced latte was.
Ingredients:
6 tangerines (makes about 1 cup of tangerine juice)
2 cups sugar
1 shot of espresso (you can also use a very concentrated instant coffee mix of 2-3 tsp instant coffee mixed with 3-4 tsp hot water)
oat milk (or milk of your choice)
Steps to make the tangerine syrup:
1. Blend up 6 tangerines and drain the pulp from the juice in a separate bowl (this will yield about 1 cup of juice). If you have a juicer, this process will be even faster.
2. Boil 2 cups of sugar with 1 cup of tangerine juice (2:1 ratio if you decide to make more syrup). Once the sugar starts boiling, lower the flame and let it simmer until the syrup starts to thicken. Let the tangerine syrup cool down.
Steps to create the iced latte (you can also drink this hot as well!):
1. Pour 2 tbsp of the cooled down tangerine syrup in a glass (you can alter this based on how sweet you want your latte!) and fill the glass with ice.
2. Pour milk to fill the glass, leaving enough room for the espresso shot.
3. Add 1 shot of espresso (or concentrated instant coffee mix).
Bonus tip if you’re feeling extra fancy: Add milk froth on top using either a milk frother or handwhisk and a tangerine slice for garnish!
Finally, make sure to mix the syrup up really well until fully blended into the milk and coffee, otherwise the syrup will be hard to sip through your straw and you won’t get the full flavor of tangerine coffee goodness!
Strawberry Matcha Latte
San Francisco bubble tea shop Boba Guys was the first time I got hooked on a strawberry matcha latte. I didn’t realize how easy it would be to create my own and now I can indulge as often as I like!
Ingredients:
1 cup diced up strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp matcha powder
1/3 cup hot water
milk
Steps to make the strawberry sauce:
1. Dice up 1 cup of strawberries.
2. Bring the strawberries, sugar, and cold water to a boil in a pot, stirring occasionally.
3. Once the syrup starts to thicken, let it simmer on a medium heat. Once the syrup has a thickened consistency, take the pot off the heat and let it cool.
Steps to make the matcha:
1. In a separate bowl, whisk 1 tsp matcha powder and 1/3 cup of hot water until the matcha has fully dissolved and all clumps are whisked away. Let the mixture cool down.
Bring it all together:
1. Pour 4 tablespoons of the strawberry sauce to a cup and add ice.
2. Pour the milk over ice, leaving enough room for the matcha.
3. Add the matcha and enjoy!
Pro Tip: If you froth the matcha slightly, it will float on top better.
Note: You can alter the amount of strawberry sauce to your preference and size of cup.
Fresh Strawberry Milk
This is reminiscent of Nesquik strawberry milk but infinitely better.
Ingredients:
1 cup diced up strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
milk
Steps:
1. Dice up 1 cup of strawberries.
2. Bring the strawberries, sugar, and water to a boil in a pot, stirring occasionally.
3. Once the syrup starts to thicken, let it simmer on a medium heat. Once the syrup has a thickened consistency, take the pot off the heat and let it cool.
4. Pour the strawberry sauce up to 1/4 of the cup and add milk. Now stir it all together!
Note: You can alter the amount of strawberry sauce to your preference and size of cup.
Greek Frappe
Dalgona who? The Greek Frappe is another instant coffee drink and uses the same ingredients as the Korean dalgona, except cold filtered water is used in place of hot water. This frothy drink is also lighter tasting and perfect for the warmer months.
Ingredients:
2 tsp instant coffee (feel free to alter this measurement to your preference)
1 tsp sugar (feel free to alter this measurement to your preference)
1/4 cup of cold filtered water
Steps:
1. Add instant coffee, sugar, and cold water to a tall glass.
2. Use a milk frother, hand mixer or blender to froth the coffee mixture.
3. Once the frothy texture has thickened and becomes more solid, add a few ice cubes and a little more water to fill the rest of the glass. You can also add a splash of milk to taste.
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