seoul food for people who love to eat
Foul Coffee? Not So, Seth!
11Aug2009 Filed under: coffee 커피, explications 설명, fatman likes 추천하는 것 Author: fatmanseoulSeth’s Travelog has put up a post ranking coffee according to his experiences in Asia. Now, we know taste is highly subjective, but we have to say . . .
Seth, you really need to get out more! Leaving aside the fact that you spoke of Japan without mentioning the sacred Doutor Coffee Co. (Hallowed be thy reasonable costs!), you can’t be getting out much if you think Korea has nothing to offer the caffine addict! Basing your opinion of Korean coffee on the office’s powdered junk is like basing your opinion of the state of American coffee on the drip coffee maker in the break room (you know, the one where people keep forgetting to clean the filter?) It’s really hardly fair to compare the powdered stuff to fresh-roasted turkish-style coffee in Indonesia, after all! And to have you point to chains like Starbucks and Hollys as the best of a bad lot only proves the need to expand your horizons.
We have to say, there’s plenty of mighty-fine brew here in the land of morning caffine, and the situation is only getting better!
Every neighborhood has their own local java joint, many of which serve up some exquisite stuff. Koreans (and their island neighbors to the east) are mad for fresh roasting and hand drip and lucious espresso. Even Dunkin’ Donuts has started their own in-country roastery to provide the freshest coffee possible. And since freshness and roasting goes pretty far in determining flavor, you’re just as likely to get a marvelous cup of coffee from a good in-house roast in Korea as you are in Indonesia.
And just to prove this, Fatman is going to start posting a series on great places for coffee here in Seoul. We’d also like to invite everyone out there to send in recommendations of places worth checking out, and even your own reviews. Hope you like your coffee strong, Seth, because that’s whats brewing!
p.s. Seriously, India ranks above Korea? The place of which you write: “Your best bet: You’ll probably do better just sticking to the tasty chai here”?
11 Responses to “Foul Coffee? Not So, Seth!”
Leave a reply
About this blog
우리 FatManSeoul는 이러한 이유로 한국의 최고의 음식에 대한 최고의 리뷰와 비평을 공유하고 싶습니다. FatManSeoul는 평범한 음식에서부터 고급음식까지, 강남지역 최고급 레스토랑에서부터 시골 할머니의 집에서 맛볼 수 있는 정이 깃든 찌게까지 모든 음식을 리뷰 대상으로 삼고 있습니다. 우리는 특별한 음식을 찾아 블로그를 통해 전세계에 소개할 것입니다. 또한 음식에 대한 가장 정확한 정보를 리뷰, 레시피, 인터뷰, 팟캐스트, 교재 등을 통해 제공할 것입니다. 이 모든 컨텐츠는 한국어와 영어로 제공될 것입니다. FatManSeoul is Korea's first bilingual online magazine about food. We’re committed to searching high and lo, from the poshest cuisine of Kangnam to the most humble, jeong-laden jjigae of the halmoni-jip in the countryside for the best food in the country. Come here for reviews, recipes, interviews, podcasts, tutorials, and the best, most accurate information on ingredients and methods, in Korean and in English. 같이 먹자!
Roboseyo
August 11th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
A little while ago I tried dutch siphoned coffee by Gyungbokgung, on the opposite side from samchungdong. Then walking around Hongdae I saw a coffee shop loaded with siphons.
My favorite place is nestled between inwangsan and pukaksan.
fatmanseoul
August 11th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
We know where you’re talking about, and are hoping to make it the first one up as a review! Or you could do it for us . . .?
Steve
August 11th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
I did a series about coffee a couple years ago. I’m sure the posts are outdated, but I still frequent a couple of these shops:
http://seoulsteves.com/2007/10/31/big-coffee-news-fresh-roasted-coffee-at-cafe-classico/
http://seoulsteves.com/2007/10/09/coffee-news-roasters-in-korea/
http://seoulsteves.com/2007/09/17/seouls-top-coffee-shops/
(a bunch of comments chiming in with their favorite places)
http://seoulsteves.com/2007/06/20/for-coffee-lovers-booya/
Seth
August 13th, 2009 at 10:14 am
It is possible that the horror of the machine coffee skewed Korea’s ranking a bit. There are indeed some mighty fine local coffee shops, particularly in Seoul. However, in my post I’m referring more to how coffee is drunk by the masses, on a daily basis, and yes, I would take street Indian coffee, with it’s fresh milk and sugar high, over most Korean coffee.
fatmanseoul
August 13th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Again, Fatman has to disagree . . . Seoulites especially spend countless hours and won on high end coffee, and the masses by and large are mad for Starbucks and Coffee Bean and the local roastery. Koreans have moved way, waaaaaaaaay beyond “standing coffee” in the past few years, and we would venture a good Korean hand-drip against, say, an under-brewed Japanese can coffee or an over-sweetened Thai style coffee most days of the week. The mass here has class, Seth!
fatmanseoul
August 13th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
p.s. besides, “standing coffee” ain’t that bad for what it is. Many a happy moment we’ve spent with that little paper cup in hand. Nevertheless, not the coffee of preference for most anymore, and definitely not a fair comparison.
carol
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:28 am
first i should say that i’m totally addicted to maxim instant coffee since moving to korea.
but second i would have to say that starbucks and other high-end coffees are popular in korea… to a certain cross-section of the population. i think if you were to look at total coffee consumed, and by who, you’d still find that the vast majority of koreans (we’re talking old folks, those who don’t live in seoul, those who can’t afford a 4,000 won cup of plain coffee) DO meet their coffee needs with maxim. if you’re young, single and have the money to do so, it’s a different story.
fatmanseoul
August 25th, 2009 at 10:52 am
We’ll have to dissagree slightly . . . first, Seoul and the surrounding environs are home to nearly half the population of Korea at this point, and even outside the Seoul/Gyeonggi area, cities dominate. And most big cities (and even small ones) do in fact play host to Starbucks, Hollys, Coffee Bean, Ediya, and countless independent coffee shops. Real coffee is now widely available at a range of prices no matter where you live. It doesn’t have to do with being young and single and in Seoul anymore. These people may be major consumers, but they’re hardly the only ones. Yes, there’s a question of affluence, but Starbucks here is at the TOP of the price range, not the middle, and lots of places have better coffee for less. The fact that Dunkin’ Donuts put their first roastery in Asia here, and promises that all the coffee they use was roasted less than seven days ago means something significant. The fact that Starbucks and other chains keep expanding means something significant, too. (The fact that there’s a Statler and Waldorf-esque pair of 할아버지 every day in the 명동점 may mean something, too, but we’re not quite sure what . . .)
This isn’t to say that Maxim and its ilk may not still make up the bulk of what’s consumed in Korea. We wouldn’t be surprised if pound for pound the powdered stuff was holding its own, if for no other reason than it tends to be an office staple. But, we don’t think that it’s a fair or useful point of comparison, which is how Seth was using it. Most Koreans don’t really think of it as coffee – it’s just fuel.
annamatic
August 26th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
I think of Maxim more as a high sugar content energy drink than as coffee, so it’s not really fair to lump that in with coffee drinking habits in Korea. My general rule of thumb in Seoul is to resist ordering coffee from any place that also serves beer and wine, and/or decorates with flowery print upholstered furniture… Those are sure signs of undrinkable coffee.
Seouleats
August 30th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Are we talking about Standing Coffee in Gyeongnidan? That place is alright and they give you extra espresso shots for free! Oh, and you get get vodka, if you are looking for a Russian Coffee^^
Annamatic…good call.
fatmanseoul
September 1st, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Haha, we were talking about the coffee that comes out of dispensers, but thanks for the recommendation!