East Asian Egg Coffee Could Be The Next Big Thing

"Describing egg coffee to our guests who have never had it has taken some practice," says Clement Hsu, co-owner of San Francisco's Breadbelly cafe, in an interview with Eater SF. "Most people are used to having their eggs scrambled and on a plate next to their cup of coffee, not in their coffee."

Since fluffy, photogenic dalgona coffee first took the internet by storm in March, it has spun off into a thousand other fun coffee trends that are letting people who miss their local coffee shops to get a taste of the barista experience at home. Worth noting is that almost none of these coffee concoctions are new inventions. Dalgona was floating around the internet for months before whipped coffee exploded on Instagram, and the equally fluffy Greek frappe first appeared in the late 1950s. Now, Eater reports, thanks to cafes like Breadbelly, the Bay Area is poised to fall in love with rich, creamy egg coffee—literally just brewed coffee with a raw egg yolk stirred in.

Versions of egg coffee are found throughout East Asia. It's long been served in Japan and Korea, and it took off in Vietnam in the 1940s when a cafe owner reportedly ran out of dairy and used egg yolk as a thickener. "The smooth milky, eggy custard and bitter-sweet, tangy coffee combo is undeniably delicious," Hsu explained to Eater. "If you like condensed milk in your coffee, try it with some egg." For some reason, though, it's a trend that hasn't really yet leapt to North America.

Have any of you tried this combination? Eggs are more precious these days, but this might just be something we have to try for ourselves—not only because it sounds delicious (if not quite as photogenic as fluffy coffee), but because there's something appealing about having your whole breakfast in one cup.