Here’s how to make the TikTok iced coffee everyone’s talking about

Because you’re missing your daily trip to Costa


If you’ve been spending lockdown doing nothing but watching TikToks, like everyone else on the planet, you might have seen a new recipe for how to make dalgona coffee, the iced coffee that everyone’s going mad for.

Dalgona coffee is basically just the thickest, creamiest iced coffee you could imagine, made from a combination of sugary coffee, milk and ice. It looks delicious, and is perfect for everyone who’s missing spending their entire student loan on daily trips to Costa and Starbucks.

Here’s how to make that TikTok creamy dalgona iced coffee, because really what else have you got to do while social distancing?

This is how to make dalgona coffee, in three easy steps:

Step one: Obtain ice

I’m still in my uni house, not home-home, and we don’t have an ice cube tray. I presume that walking to Sainsbury’s to buy one for the purpose of trying out a TikTok recipe wasn’t quite what Boris Johnson had in mind when he put the UK in lockdown and said we can leave the house once a day for exercise and to buy essential food, so I decided to improvise.

I got freezer bags, and filled them with a little bit of water, then put the bags in the freezer at an angle so all the water would sink into a corner, and the ice would be more cube-y.

How to make dalgona coffee, recipe for the TikTok coffee, guide to making thick iced coffee

Surprisingly, this actually worked quite well, and I will definitely be making ice like this again. Those of you who are at home, your mum definitely already has ice in the freezer so you can skip this step.

Step two: Make the coffee

Put two tablespoons of instant coffee, two tablespoons of granulated sugar, and two tablespoons of hot water in a small bowl.

How to make dalgona coffee, recipe for the TikTok coffee, guide to making thick iced coffee

The recipe says granulated sugar but I could only find caster, sue me

Use a whisk (or, if you’re feeling boujee, a milk frother) to beat the mixture until it’s thick and looks golden brown.

How to make dalgona coffee, recipe for the TikTok coffee, guide to making thick iced coffee

When you first mix it

At first, it looks like sludge and smells a bit like battery acid, but bear with me.

How to make dalgona coffee, recipe for the TikTok coffee, guide to making thick iced coffee

It quickly gets fluffy, but it takes a while to make it thick. I’m absolutely not a gym lad, I only had one awful handheld whisk at my disposal, and the boys I live with were “working, actually” and refused to help me. The whisking process definitely takes a good few minutes if you’re weak and/or don’t have an electric whisk.

How to make dalgona coffee, recipe for the TikTok coffee, guide to making thick iced coffee

Step three: Put it all together, and you’ve got your dalgona coffee!

When your mixture’s thick enough (or you’re just fed up of whisking), pour your chosen milk (or your fave plant-based milk) into a glass, with your ice cubes. Scoop your coffee mixture out of the bowl and put it on top of the milk.

How to make dalgona coffee, recipe for the TikTok coffee, guide to making thick iced coffee

Ooh she thicc

And you’re done! Super easy, super yummy, and WAY cheaper than your daily iced coconut latte. It looks cool when the mixture’s just sat on top of the milk, but I’d definitely recommend mixing it because otherwise you’re just drinking either a) milk, or b) really strong coffee.

How to make dalgona coffee, recipe for the TikTok coffee, guide to making thick iced coffee

Slurp slurp

Just make sure you make a TikTok of it (or at least whack a boomerang on your Insta story), and then you’re on to a winner.

More TikTok stories recommended by this writer:

11 TikTok dances you need to learn while in quarantine

How to get on the TikTok for you page: A step-by-step guide

‘I really don’t even cook very much’: We spoke to *that* TikTok pasta guy