Dalgona Coffee Packs A Punch In The Caffeine Department

By now, you've seen dalgona coffee trending all over social media with its whipped texture and 'Gram-worthy aesthetic. If you're ready to substitute your go-to coffee for this fluffy sip, you may want to know a little more about how well it can perk you up. So, how much caffeine is in dalgona coffee? It can totally replace your morning cup of coffee.

The original coffee recipe went viral after TikTok user @iamhannahcho shared it in March 2020. It caught on for its visually appealing look, but also because it's so easy to make. The recipe only requires three ingredients you whip together for a fluffy consistency and pour over your choice of milk. Mix together two tablespoons of instant coffee, two tablespoons of sugar, and two tablespoons of hot water until it's got that fluffy texture, then spoon the mixture into a glass of milk, and you've got dalgona coffee.

The caffeine content of instant coffee may vary depending on which brand you use. One teaspoon of regular instant coffee contains about 31.4 milligrams of caffeine, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The dalgona recipe calls for two tablespoons of instant coffee, which is six level teaspoons. With that in mind, a more accurate caffeine range for your finished dalgona coffee is about 188 milligrams of caffeine.

Of course, different coffees can boast different caffeine counts, so you should take a look at whichever instant coffee you use and do the math from there if it differs from the average.

When you compare your at-home instant coffee with brewed sips from a coffee house, you'll see the dalgona coffee packs quite a punch. An 8-ounce cup of regular brewed coffee generally has around 95 milligrams of caffeine on average. However, some coffees, like Starbucks Pike Place brewed coffee are stronger. The Pike Place roast has 155 milligrams of caffeine per 8-ounce serving, and 310 milligrams in a 16-ounce size.

Your dalgona coffee will be around 188 milligrams if you go off of the average instant coffee brands caffeine content, so that's about the same as ordering a stronger brew from Starbucks. Of course, you can adjust the caffeine by adding more or less. If you want to stay away from the caffeine or decrease the caffeine count, try only using decaf instant coffee or mixing decaf and regular. You can also experiment with the dalgona coffee recipe by swapping out the coffee for cocoa powder or matcha green tea powder.