[MORNING CALM TALES] Korea's 1990s coffee revolution

Something was brewing in Korea. It was my first week in Seoul when a few students invited me to a new coffee shop called Jardin, just down the block from the language institute. The place gleamed with chrome, track lighting and big windows that opened onto a busy street. Inside, young Koreans sipped espresso and cappuccino, chatting over jazz playing softly in the background. It could’ve been Paris or New York — except we were in a rapidly modernizing corner of East Asia, and this was the start of a cultural shift. Back then, most people still drank a thick mix of instant coffee, powdered creamer and sugar. It was served in a range of places: traditional cafés that took pride in perfecting a proper brew and the more notorious dabang — dim, smoky rooms often favored by older Korean men. The latter had a reputation, not always for their coffee. For many younger Koreans, especially after the successful Seoul Olympics in 1988, these places felt outdated and uninspiring. They wanted something fresher, cleaner and more stylish. And just like that, a coffee revolution began to bubble. KWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times