I’ve moved to a new team at work and I’ve learned a couple things about them. First there are a lot of Navy people on this team, and secondly, they love their coffee. The conversation drifted yesterday afternoon to something I never heard of, Dalgona Coffee. Supposedly if you were anywhere near social media in 2020, you probably saw the golden, frothy towers of Dalgona coffee. Born from South Korea’s café culture and named after a honeycomb candy, it’s essentially a reverse cappuccino: the coffee sits on top, whipped into a sweet, airy foam, while the milk forms the base. I had no idea.
The Basics
- Ingredients: equal parts instant coffee, sugar, and hot water (usually 1 tbsp each).
- Method: whip until thick and creamy, then spoon over hot or cold milk.
- Result: a layered drink that’s as photogenic as it is energizing.
The Problem
At home, whipping by hand can take forever. In the field, it’s downright impractical. Nobody’s carrying a hand mixer in their ruck and since coffee is such an essential element of the Navy and Military as a whole, I started looking for a field-ready solution.
The Field-Ready Hack, where improvisation shines. Instead of whisking:
- Toss your instant coffee, sugar, and hot water into a water bottle or protein shaker.
- Seal it tight.
- Shake hard for 60–90 seconds.
The agitation aerates the mix just like whisking, giving you that signature foam without the arm‑burn or extra gear. Pour it over milk (or powdered milk reconstituted in your canteen cup), and you’ve got a morale‑boosting coffee break that feels like a café treat in the middle of nowhere.
Bottom line: Dalgona coffee is proof that even in austere environments, you can elevate the daily caffeine ritual. With nothing more than a water bottle and some instant coffee, you can whip up a little luxury — no countertop mixer required.
Since it was the US Navy’s birthday I thought I’d salute the fuel that will help to power the next 250 years!
Garfield out.
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