Cafes

There is an abundance of cafes in Korea, some are chains, some aren't. It's been fun visiting the different ones in my neighborhood and seeing what they have to offer.  While there are a few Starbucks stores here, Paris Baguette has a much bigger presence.  Another popular coffee place is Tous Les Jours and like Paris Baguette, it is a "French-Asian" bakery.  They are Korean companies that offer baked goods and beverages.  Both open early and close late.  Other cafes, including Starbucks, don't open till 10am.  They are a popular place to meet up with friends, share some treats (Koreans are all about sharing) or do homework.

 

 

None of these places that I've gone to serve regular drip coffee, instead, they serve specialty coffee and teas, including Americanos, lattes, mochas and green tea concoctions, hot or iced.  There are separate cafes that offer "hand-drip coffee" and these are fairly new places; I haven't found one yet.  Most of my Korean friends drink Americanos black, no sugar or cream.  The cafes will offer syrup (like simple syrup) to sweeten your coffee, or they have sugar packets available, but don't offer cream. (Still haven't figured that out yet.)

 

Drinks usually run about 4,000 won (about $3.50) for about a 12 ounce drink.  Here is a menu from Caffe la Terre. Their prices aren't as expensive as most.  You'll notice that only one size is offered.  I've only seen one or two places that offer two different sizes and they were in Seoul.  (I think Mayor Bloomberg would be pleased that gigantic, fattening drinks aren't being offered up for sale.)  If your drink is take-out they usually knock off 500-1000 won off the price!

 

Here are some samples of what I've been enjoying the past several months:

A waffle with pistachio ice cream at Caffe Bene.

Egg custard and some hot dog thingy.

Tirimisu at Brown Bread

Pecan tart at Etarte (about half the sugar you'd expect in a regular pecan tart).

Egg custard and choco horn (to take for lunch).



Separate smoking room in Caffe Bene.  Most cafes have a room for smokers. 







One of my favorite cafes- Coffeesmith. Three open floors and the best milk tea!

 

A café located in Anyang Art Park.  I don't know the name but it has pretty views.



     

 

With Helen and Ina.  I'm supposed to be helping Helen with her English but she found a guitar behind the counter so she played some Beatles instead. 

The cafes are great places to enjoy some coffee and visit with friends but they are usually very loud.  I don't know how students can concentrate with all the noise.  But most cafes offer free wifi and that's a big draw.  If you have a favorite spot you need to get there early because these cafes become packed by the evening, and forget about the weekends.  You usually end up sharing a table with other people who just want to play on their phone, read, or study while sipping their coffee. One thing I've learned- people's personal space is a much smaller bubble here than back at home.  Korea doesn't have a lot of space and I see that in the cafes, not just the buses and subway trains.

So where do you go if you want coffee and the café isn't open?  Head to a convenience store! Eight ounce cans of iced coffee is the popular drink of choice with a dozen different brands and a dozen different types.  Just think of the Starbucks Double Shot can- most everyone I know drinks this type of coffee.  For me, it's just sweetened, coffee-flavored milk, I don't think it has enough caffeine for me. 

It's difficult to eat right when everywhere I turn there is some pastry calling my name.  I guess we'll see if I balloon to 200 pounds by the end of the year.  Stay tuned...