In 1950, Americans Had Aspic. Now We Have Dalgona Coffee.

Allison Ward used to grab coffee during her commute to work. The 34-year-old, a project manager for the McMaster Institute in Hamilton, Ontario, told me she needs caffeine every day, and that ever since the coronavirus pandemic put the city on lockdown, she’s been missing her Starbucks fix.

Then she learned about dalgona coffee. The recipe—made of equal parts instant coffee, sugar, and hot water, whipped until foamy— in countries such as India, Greece, and Libya, but became a viral trend in March after began testing the concoction. Like other quarantine micro-trends—sourdough starters, for one—the drink grew popular online for being both easy to make and pretty to photograph. (When whisked well and poured over iced milk, it looks like an artisanal latte.) “It’s been a nice taste of familiarity in hard times,” Ward told me over the phone.