Love all things coffee? This chilled Japanese coffee jelly is a refreshing dessert to enjoy on a hot summer day. Enjoy it plain or with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.
Coffee Jelly (コーヒーゼリー) is a popular Japanese dessert and a true summertime delight! If you’re all for caffeinated desserts, you will fall in love with its mild sweetness and big coffee flavor. Top this gelatin dessert with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or a spoonful of half and half—oh my, you’d be in heaven!
Table of Contents
What is Coffee Jelly?
To put it simply, coffee jelly is gelatinized coffee. A rich and silky coffee jello.
Made of black coffee, gelatin powder, and sugar, coffee jelly or kohii zerii can be found on the menus in many restaurants, cafes, and bakeries in Japan. This chilled dessert is typically served in small cups, and sometimes the jelly is cut into cubes and served in a cup with whipped cream or milk.
While Jell-O desserts have been deemed out of fashion in the US and England, coffee jelly—and many other jelly desserts—never go out of style in Japan. In fact, its popularity lives on even though coffee jelly has been trendy since the 1960s when a Japanese coffee shop chain introduced it on its menu. We enjoy our Jello-Os because they are light and refreshing and have a solid place in Japan’s culinary history.
The Japanese love a little quick pick-me-up so you can even find pre-made coffee jelly sold in small plastic cups in supermarkets and konbini convenience stores!
Ingredients for Coffee Jelly
It cannot be any easier to make coffee jelly at home! You’ll need only four ingredients:
- Water
- Kanten powder – You can substitute with gelatin powder or agar agar
- Sugar
- strong-brewed coffee or instant coffee (or instant espresso coffee for stronger flavor)
In this recipe, I used kanten powder instead of gelatin sheet/powder. Kanten (寒天, かんてん) is a natural plant-based gelatin made of edible seaweed. With kanten, you can make all kinds of vegetarian-friendly chilled desserts. You can purchase kanten at Japanese and Asian grocery stores or online.
Kanten Substitution: If you are going to substitute powdered kanten with gelatin powder or agar agar, use a double portion. Please read the recipe note section in my recipe card below for more detailed information.
Jump to RecipeHow to Make Coffee Jelly
- Make the coffee mixture: Combine strong-brewed coffee (or water, if you are using instant coffee) and kanten powder in a small saucepan. Whisk and bring the liquid to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and cook for 2 minutes while whisking. Then, turn off the heat and add sugar (and instant coffee, if using). Let cool for 5 minutes.
- Pour the mixture into a mold and let cool: Pour the hot mixture into a mold or glassware serving dishes. Once the coffee jelly cools, cover it with a paper towel and plastic (I used a silicone lid). Refrigerate for 4-5 hours, or until the jelly has set.
- Serve: Cut the jelly into cubes and serve them chilled with the milk and condensed milk mixture.
Cooking Tips and Techniques
- Continuously whisk the kanten powder mixture without stopping for 2 minutes. Since you can’t see the powder in the mixture, you might easily assume that it has dissolved. However, it takes time and needs constant mixing. If your mixture doesn’t set, it’s most likely due to a lack of mixing and the powder not completely dissolved.
- Remove the bubbles on the surface by quickly touching them with the flame from a butane torch (also called a kitchen torch) or a long-stemmed utility/candle lighter. You also could scoop them off with a spoon or pop them with a toothpick, but those are both time-consuming methods. It’s all for the translucent look!
Different Ways to Enjoy Coffee Jelly
- Add the cubed jelly to milkshakes, ice cream floats, and more – You can even add the jiggly, translucent cubes of coffee jelly to your iced drinks and sundaes for additional flavor and texture! It will instantly level up your dessert games.
- Serve in glass dishes – For an elegant presentation, serve the dessert solid in glass dishes.
Coffee jelly is truly a simple yet lovely dessert. It’s the perfect summer dessert to serve after a meal!
A Useful Japanese Kitchen Tool for Jelly Recipes
Called Nagashikan (流し缶), this stainless steel container has two parts. You can lift the inner layer to remove the jelly easily. Yes, there’s no need to flip!
Try More Japanese Dessert Recipes!
- Japanese Cheesecake
- Tofu Pudding (Blancmange)
- Fruit Jelly
- Orange Jelly
- 10-Minute Japanese Custard Pudding
- No-Bake Creme Caramel
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Easy Japanese Coffee Jelly
Ingredients
- 2½ cups strong-brewed coffee (or substitute 2½ cups (600 ml) water and 2 Tbsp instant coffee powder or crystals; see my instructions for when to add the instant powder)
- 1 stick kanten (agar) powder (2 tsp or 4 g per stick packet; see the end notes for substitutions; to use gelatin powder or agar agar, first test a double portion to see if it sets, as each brand is different)
- ⅓ cup sugar
For Serving
- 3 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk (skip for vegan/vegetarian)
- 3 Tbsp milk (skip for vegan/vegetarian)
- toppings of your choice (optional; whipped cream, coffee beans, and mint leaves)
Instructions
- Before You Start: Please note that this recipe requires a chilling time of 5 hours. Now, gather all the ingredients.
- In a small saucepan, add 2½ cups strong-brewed coffee. (To use instant coffee powder or crystals, add 2½ cups water now, but wait until Step 4 to add the instant powder). Then, add 1 stick kanten (agar) powder.
- Whisk well and bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes, continuously whisking the mixture. Tip: Kanten powder is hard to see, but be sure to dissolve it completely at this stage. If you don‘t, the mixture will not solidify. Learn more about kanten in the end Notes.
- Turn off the heat. Add ⅓ cup sugar (and 2 Tbsp instant coffee powder, if using). Whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
- Run a square or rectangular mold (I used a nagashikan that is 15 x 14 cm or about 6 x 5½ inches) under running tap water so the jelly doesn‘t stick. Shake off the excess water, but do not wipe it dry. Pour the hot mixture into the mold. Tip: If you don‘t have a nagashikan, you could use a baking pan or dish that is 8 x 8 inches (20 x 20 cm). It will create a flatter, single layer of jelly. Another serving option: To serve the jelly (without cutting) in individual glassware, let the hot mixture cool for 5 minutes, then pour it into the glass serving dishes.
- Remove the bubbles on the surface by quickly touching them with the flame from a butane torch (also called a kitchen torch) or a long-stemmed utility/candle lighter. You also could scoop them off with a spoon or pop them with a toothpick, but those are both time-consuming methods. Once the bubbles disappear, let the mixture cool to room temperature on the countertop and solidify (about 45–60 minutes). The jelly will set before it reaches room temperature.
- Once the coffee jelly cools down, cover it with a paper towel and plastic (or a silicone lid) and refrigerate for 4–5 hours. Tip: The paper towel absorbs condensation.
To Make the Topping
- Coffee jelly tastes great with a sweetened condensed milk topping. To make it, combine 3 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk and 3 Tbsp milk and mix well. Adjust the consistency and sweetness based on your preference. Add more sweetened condensed milk for a sweeter, thicker mixture.
To Serve
- Take out the nagashikan or pan from the refrigerator. Run a knife along the edges of the jelly. Then, lift the inner tray from the nagashikan.
- Slide the jelly from the inner tray (or invert the pan to release the jelly) onto a cutting board. Cut into ½-inch (1.3-cm) cubes.
- Transfer the cubed jelly to individual serving dishes. If you poured and chilled the jelly in individual glass dishes, take them out of the refrigerator now. Serve with the toppings of your choice. I like to add whipped cream, mint, and a coffee bean on top. Drizzle with the sweetened condensed milk topping. Enjoy!
To Store
- You can keep the coffee jelly in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Notes
- kanten powder: 1 stick packet (4 g)
- kanten bar: 1 bar (8 g)
- kanten threads: 24 threads (8 g)
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on April 20, 2014. It was updated with a slightly revised recipe and new images on May 3, 2024.
I use this recipe with agar powder. But I use same amount as kanten powder. Double amounts were too much. I wonder why other people has different results.
Hello there, Miho. Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
As Nami indicated on the recipe card, the textures vary depending on the brand.
You can read more about Kanten in this post. We hope this helps!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/agar-agar-kanten/
This is soooo so good! And very easy to whip up! I’ve made it a few times now and will make it many more times. I use agar powder and did almost 3 teaspoons agar yesterday, could use even slightly more. But very delicious melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I didn’t have cream yesterday and topped with about a tablespoon of condensed milk. Wow, You have just got to try that one time 😉 thank you so much for this recipe!!
Hi Ina! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed homemade Coffee Jelly!
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
And Yes! condensed milk is sooo good too.😁
I actually made this twice in two days! the first time I overcooked the gelatin and it ended up not setting correctly (could you mention that for rookie cooks?) and the second time I used instant espresso instead of regular (because my regular instant coffee sucked). I think that about one rounded tablespoon of instant espresso is about the same strength.
And yes, I’m here because of Saiki K.
Either way, it’s delicious and perfect and I’m going to start running out of instant coffee real fast
Hi Joey! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your experience with us!
We are so happy to hear you enjoyed Homemade coffee jelly!
The texture and qq-ness of this coffee jelly’s recipe is simply perfecto!
Hi Tan, We are glad to hear you enjoyed this Coffee Jelly! Thank you for trying this recipe!
super excited to try coffee jelly! i’ve never made jelly or jello before and am realizing i don’t know how much it needs to be cooled before refrigerating. should it be cold, or lukewarm? thanks for the recipe!
Hi Shay,
When the jelly becomes less warm or closer to room temperature, you can place it in the refrigerator. 😉
We hope this helps!
Hi Nami, I attempted this recipe and followed every step, but for some reason my jelly refuses to set/solidify. What could have wrong?
Hi Michelle! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! It’s possible that kanten did not dissolve well… that’s what I read before for trouble shooting. The ratio should work well. Anything you made changes to the recipe?