Korean Job Discussion Forums

[luvnpeas]

Is there anything better than Starbucks?

Or anything comparable, but cheaper? A Korean told me Starbucks costs more in Korea than in Japan; the prices are roughly double the US rate.

I'm from Portland, OR, the coffee-snob capital of the US (Seattle-ites don't even bother trying to compete, please). I need a good cup of Stumptown, NOW.

[Wangja]

Quality coffee is a severe problem here and let it be said that Starbucks, at any price, is not the solution.

I bring small supplies from Europe whenever I go there.

[B-Teacher]

Well, I can't say I'm a "coffee snob" (I tend to drink just about anything for my coffee fix except MacDonald's), but I've found a chain called "Coffee Bean" to be fairly good. The best part is the flavoured lattes costing about W2500 (like half the price of Starbucks).

[mnhnhyouh]

[JeJuJitsu]

[hepcat]

I avoided Starbucks before coming here, but after much searching found it to be as good a place as any to get good coffee. I suspect it's the heavy marketing and possibly amoral corporate practices that make some gag. The price is high, but bargain coffee is generally sh#te.
That said, I stopped buying their beans this year when they jacked the price 20% higher than the high price they were already charging.
I now buy McNulty, the 1 kg bag of whole beans, from the big grocery stores--it's not quite gourmet, but it's good for daily drinking. Now that E-Mart has bought out WalMart and Carrefour, I'm not sure how my supply will hold up. (Carrefour had decent, cheap ground coffee) Perhaps a Costco membership is in my future....

[rothkowitz]

Costco has ground coffee,man won for 3 pounds.Not eath-shattering coffee but still pretty good.Drinkable and cheap.

Has anyone tried the beans instead of the ready ground tins?

if it's better tasting I might have to invest in a grinder.

[Dev]

If you can get to a Home Plus, they have a nice 2kg bag of Columbian (by Rosebud brand) coffee for 20,000 won, plus they grind it up there in front of you. Tastes good.

If you want to drink decent coffee and not pay 4000 won to Starsucks, brew your own coffee at home and pour it into a thermos to go.

[Becka]

There's a good, small place near Hongik Univ. that Harpeau introduced us to - beans roasted on site, if I remember correctly. Can't remember the name, but if you PM Harpeau I'm sure he'll help you out.

There's not a lot to choose from where we live - but we can make almost any bean taste acceptable if we grind it ourselves and use a stove-top espresso maker.

[Ron Stevens]

there's coffee roasting houses 'round the place you pay a bit more but it's worth it

micky d's uses lavazza i would go there ahead of starbucks

[tacon101]

there are also teabag type coffeebags...jardin or richville....i dont mean the ones with the sugar added in,but bags that make black (or flavored black) coffee

they're a little weak if not steeped long enough, but not too bad if you dont want to deal with beans and filters

[dangsangirl]

Do you mean Kaldi near Hongdae, Becca? It's a small coffee shop that roasts their own beans. The owner is very nice; he's also into scuba diving. I think you can study coffee with him too?! Anyway the coffee is good, way better than Starbucks but around the same price.

[luvnpeas]

[princess]

I had a green tea latte at Starbucks in Shinsa last night for 4850won. That's cheaper than coffee in many bars.

[madowlspeaks]

This might be the worst thing ever to come out of my mouth, but instant coffee, heated with milk, water and sugar over the gas range is awesome. Don't knock it till you try it.