coffee joy in a time of quarantine

On an ordinary day, I drink two to three cups of strong, black coffee every day. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't, but what I'm really going for is the bracing strength of black coffee to slap me into being a functional human. However, since nothing seems to be ordinary at the moment, I decided to try an intriguing coffee recipe that popped into my inbox the other day, called dalgona coffee.

  (It's apparently very popular over social media at the moment, but this was the first I'd heard of it.) 

If you, like me, find yourself lolling about the house around 3:21 pm and wish for a caffeinated pick me up, I recommend giving this one a try. I don't typically prefer sweetened coffee beverages, but I found this one to be a perfect mix of intense frothy coffee with creamy milk to balance it out. 

Recipe

makes 1 serving

1 TBSP instant coffee

 (apparently Cafe Bustelo is the best 

but I used an old jar languishing

 in my cabinet with good results)

1 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP boiling water

Your milk of choice

 (I used vanilla oat milk, but whatever you like normally will obviously work because...you like it)

If you have a frother, use that to mix the instant coffee, sugar and boiling water together until creamy and whipped. If not, never fear! You can apparently put them in a mason jar and shake until frothy, though I haven't tried this. You can also whisk them by hand (this is tiring, I tried it once) or using a hand mixer. Whichever method you choose, once it's lightened in color to a rich caramel and looks very creamy, spoon it over a cup about 3/4 full with milk and ice, then stir gently before drinking.

I didn't do a great job of taking process photos last time I made this, but if you need further inspiration just google "dalgona coffee" and you'll be in endless supply of them.