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South Korea, a haven for coffee addicts
South Koreans are having such a love affair with coffee that two soap operas centered around coffee houses have proven to be roaring successes, with one of them winning awards in the South Korean equivalent of the Emmys
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outh Koreans are having such a love affair with coffee that two soap operas centered around coffee houses have proven to be roaring successes, with one of them winning awards in the South Korean equivalent of the Emmys. There is also a Korean movie titled Café Noir (Black Coffee) and a song called One Cup of Coffee.
And now Indonesia is exporting Kopi Luwak (Civet coffee) to South Korean to whet its population’s appetite for coffee even more.
One never has to look far for a cup of coffee in Seoul, which has coffee houses on every corner, and a few in between as well. Walk along any commercial street in Seoul and you are bound to pass three or four coffee houses all on one block.
Korea’s very first café is said to have been a pavilion on the grounds of Deoksugung Palace, where Emperor Gojong, the first monarch of the Great Han Empire (1897-1910), liked to listen to music, discuss current affairs and drink his favorite beverage, coffee.
Amuse bouche, a clever display of skewered garlic chips, dried ginseng, red sweet potato and seaweed in a bed of coffee, soy and black beans and green peas, is a centerpiece at Congdu restaurant on the grounds of the Seoul National History Museum.
Walking through the gates of Deoksugung Palace is like being transported back in time. Immediately ahead is the Geumcheon bridge, which the emperor’s carriage would pass over during ancient times. There are various buildings on the grounds of Deoksugung, one of them being the pavilion where the emperor drank coffee.
So it came as no surprise to learn that Starbucks chose to open its first Asian Barista College in Seoul. Located centrally in the Jung-Gu area not far from City Hall and Deoksugung Palace, the college invited journalists from Asia for a two-day training course on not only how to make a decent cup of coffee but also on how to identify the basic scents of coffee and where it comes from.
Its Guatemala Antigua blend, for example, has a spice and cocoa flavor that compliments chocolate, apples, caramel and nuts, whereas its Sulawesi coffee has an earthy herbal flavor that compliments cheese, caramel, apples and pears.
Donning dark green aprons, the journalist “baristas” took their places along a long, tall table. Our instructors, led by Coffee Engagement manager June Ashley, told us to “spoon” the thick crust of ground coffee to smell its aroma. Ashley explained that the tongue is capable of distinguishing only four tastes – salt, sweet, bitter and sour- whereas the nose can detect thousands of subtleties.
After that we were told to remove the ground coffee and literally slurp the dark, rich coffee remaining in the glass and aerate the coffee by spraying it across our palates, which enables the subtle flavors and aromas to reach the nose. Ashely credits a perfect cup of Sulawesi for turning her on to coffee 18 years ago, but now considers the Sumatra coffee her favorite cuppa these days, which demonstrates the lure of Indonesian coffee beans.
Starbucks is named after the first mate in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, and the 400 Starbuck stores in Korea - which beat Indonesia with its 100 outlets – certainly illustrates the whale-size appetite Koreans have for caffeine.
One upscale restaurant located in the Seoul National History Museum even cooks with coffee, using it not only in its desserts but also in its main meals. Congdu restaurant chefs cooked up a feast fit for kings for the participating journalists, serving up a multi-course Neo-Korean meal pairing coffee and wine with each distinct element of each course. Starting with Amuse bouche, the course first appeared to be a table settling but was in fact a clever display of coffee, soy and black beans and green peas holding a variety of garlic chips, dried ginseng, red sweet potato and seaweed skewered on toothpicks.
The following course was Mountain Herb Salad with Good Fortune Wraps filled with three kinds of vegetables that simply melted in the mouth. Next were Lotus Seed soup served with latte foam, and green sea sauce abalone risotto, which hit the spot just nicely. Jeju black pork in brown bean paste and Sulawesi coffee sauce with julienne aged gimchi proved the most popular with everyone at the table.
The restaurant owner, Vivian Han, explained that the meat had been cooked for 48 hours, which explained its tenderness. Next up was Galbi steak with sauce made from 15-year vintage soy sauce. Date ice cream and chestnut mouse with robus coreanus sauce rounded up the meal, and though everyone was full, no one could resist the delicious dessert.
Each course was served with a particular coffee and wine. Before the meal was served, most of those present had voiced surprise that coffee could be used not only as an ingredient for savory dishes but also as an accompanying drink like wine. But at the end of the meal, everyone was full of praise for the chefs and their creations.
