What on earth is Korean coffee culture? What's so special about it?

South Korea's coffee culture is becoming more and more international. On the one hand, the Korean Coffee Show is one of the largest coffee festivals in the world, with 555 exhibitors (111of them from abroad) in 2015, with a total of 140730 visitors from around the world. On the other hand, if you put the average barista in the United States, Australia or even Singapore in Seoul, customers may not be satisfied. In addition to those crazy cafes, there are six things that make this coffee-loving beautiful country different.

Authentication, Certification & more Certification

There are 350000 certified baristas in Korea. In fact, South Korea has more baristas than any other country in the world. This is also twice the number of employees of Starbucks worldwide. Yes, the number of baristas in Korea can be equal to the total number of two Starbucks. Are you surprised? South Korea may be a small country, but it has 147 AST (SCAE authorized training), which is also the largest in the world. This is a country that takes coffee education seriously. In addition, South Korea has professional cup testing: there are 2041 Q-graders (not to mention 157R-graders), which is also the largest in the world. So when you give a customer a cappuccino, keep in mind that they may be a certified barista, coffee trainer or cup tester. When a Korean likes your coffee, it means your coffee is special.

Latte is hotter than summer in Asia.

When the customer orders a cup of Latte, you need to pour the high-quality milk into the milk tank, beat the perfect foam with the steam pipe, and then pour it into the espresso to make a beautiful cup of Latte. When you hand the coffee to the customer, expect them to reply with a smile, but on the contrary, the customer wants you to give them a smile.

In Korea, customers like super-hot lattes, so it takes longer when you are foaming.

Cappuccino is not what you think.

What's the difference between Latte and Cappuccino? Latte usually has less foam than Cappuccino, but the opposite is true in South Korea, where Cappuccino is a Latte with cinnamon powder.

Don't try to argue with baristas or customers. Cappuccino has been sprinkled with cinnamon since he entered Korea and has never changed. If you don't like cinnamon, order a Latte;. If you like cinnamon, order a Cappuccino.

Americano is regular coffee.

In some countries, if you say "a cup of coffee" when you order, you usually get a cup of coffee. If a Korean customer says "a cup of coffee", then you must remember to give him a cup of Americano

If you are confused, you need to know the history of coffee in Korea. There used to be a kind of coffee called "hazelnut coffee", which is a kind of coffee with hazelnut flavor. Then espresso appeared and the coffee industry began to take off. Espresso is too strong for most Koreans, so you will find Frap é or Americano on the Korean menu. In this way, Di worry coffee has become a thing of the past, and Americano has become the new default option.

Americano:Gangnam Style

Gangnam means wealth, elegance, and fashion. Maybe that's why this new Americano is called the beverage of Jiangnan ladies. This drink is an Americano with two ice cubes. Generally speaking, Americano is hot, so you will find it strange if you are not used to the way Korean customers order Americano with ice cubes. But after several requests from customers, I got used to it.

Dutch Brew: a new cold-extracted coffee

Like other parts of the world, cold coffee is becoming more and more popular in South Korea. Dutch Brew has a mysterious charm because of its long extraction time. In fact, we like to use it as a gift. When many people in the world like cold-extracted coffee, many Koreans have not even heard of it. The ice drop coffee we drink is a kind of cold extracted coffee after several hours of extraction with ice water, and the ice drop coffee machine looks a bit like a complicated funnel.

Now you already know what makes Korean coffee culture different. Even if you are a foreign barista, you will know how to serve your customers. Or if you are a coffee-loving tourist, you can tell the difference between Latte and Cappuccino in Korea.

By Phil Newell / becoffing