|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
|
 Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 8:18 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| eamo wrote: |
| radcon wrote: |
| Before Starbucks came the coffee shop scene in Seoul was bleak. |
Before Starbucks opened anywhere the coffee scene was bleak........I know it's cool to hate on big chains. I think I did that when I was a teenager too. 
But you have to give credit where it's due. Actually, decent coffee would have been extremely rare in Korea before the big American chains came. Same for fast-food.
Sorry Korea, but coffee and fast-food are not two of your intrinsic strengths. |
To be fair...coffee is not an American intrinsic strength either
 |
True, it wasn't for a long time. But coffee historians will tell you that it was the emergence of the gourmet coffee scene in the early 70's, which was led by chains like Starbucks (who only had a few branches in the Seattle area at the time), which turned Americans into a nation that seen coffee as something which came from a 3lb pre-ground container of Folgers (usually robusta bean. Not arabica) used with a drip machine........into latte-loving espresso affectionado's.
I do loathe how the big chains like Starbucks set ridiculously high prices after they had made us all latte and cappuccino addicts. That's scandalous..........but they get a nod from me for improving the standard of coffee in the two countries I've lived in. Ireland and Korea.
Of course I make all my latte's and espresso's at home with only freshly roasted arabica single-origin beans, ground just right in my Baratza burr grinder, and pulled through my Gaggia espresso machine. Much better than what the teenage staff in Starbucks can do, at about an 1/8 of the cost. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
ThingsComeAround
Joined: 07 Nov 2008
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 8:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Steelrails wrote: |
Wait, Starbucks to EXPAND???
I seem to recall every time I'm in Seoul I see one of those things every 30 seconds.
Personally of all the chains, I like Ediya the best. I wish they would expand.
What's next a Mrs. Field's in every shopping mall? A Cinnabon? I swear one of these days I'm going to be rolling through some place like Geoje Island and drive past a Sonic. I think at that point it will be time to pic up shop and head for Mongolia. |
+1 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 10:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Steelrails wrote: |
Wait, Starbucks to EXPAND???
I seem to recall every time I'm in Seoul I see one of those things every 30 seconds.
Personally of all the chains, I like Ediya the best. I wish they would expand.
What's next a Mrs. Field's in every shopping mall? A Cinnabon? I swear one of these days I'm going to be rolling through some place like Geoje Island and drive past a Sonic. I think at that point it will be time to pic up shop and head for Mongolia. |
Cinnabon has been here and failed, but a Korean imitator has just popped up.
I could go for one of those giant Sonic lemonades on a day like today. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 3:34 am Post subject: |
|
|
[quote="eamo"]
| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| eamo wrote: |
| radcon wrote: |
| Before Starbucks came the coffee shop scene in Seoul was bleak. |
Before Starbucks opened anywhere the coffee scene was bleak........I know it's cool to hate on big chains. I think I did that when I was a teenager too.
But you have to give credit where it's due. Actually, decent coffee would have been extremely rare in Korea before the big American chains came. Same for fast-food.
Sorry Korea, but coffee and fast-food are not two of your intrinsic strengths. |
To be fair...coffee is not an American intrinsic strength either
|
True, it wasn't for a long time. But coffee historians will tell you that it was the emergence of the gourmet coffee scene in the early 70's, which was led by chains like Starbucks (who only had a few branches in the Seattle area at the time), which turned Americans into a nation that seen coffee as something which came from a 3lb pre-ground container of Folgers (usually robusta bean. Not arabica) used with a drip machine........into latte-loving espresso affectionado's.
I do loathe how the big chains like Starbucks set ridiculously high prices after they had made us all latte and cappuccino addicts. That's scandalous..........but they get a nod from me for improving the standard of coffee in the two countries I've lived in. Ireland and Korea.
Of course I make all my latte's and espresso's at home with only freshly roasted arabica single-origin beans, ground just right in my Baratza burr grinder, and pulled through my Gaggia espresso machine. Much better than what the teenage staff in Starbucks can do, at about an 1/8 of the cost.[/quote]
To the bolded part: completely agree. I do the same here in Canada. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 3:45 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Well, I have no idea how to make a strawberry and cream frappucino at home and I'm glad that there are plenty of Starbucks employees who do know how. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 4:30 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| sojusucks wrote: |
| Well, I have no idea how to make a strawberry and cream frappucino at home and I'm glad that there are plenty of Starbucks employees who do know how. |
I had a vente mocha coconut light frappucino in Las Vegas this summer and man, outside on a very hot day, did it ever hit the spot. Unfortunately, it makes the frappucinos served here appear undersized. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
itistime
Joined: 23 Jul 2010
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 4:38 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| eamo wrote: |
| radcon wrote: |
| Before Starbucks came the coffee shop scene in Seoul was bleak. |
Before Starbucks opened anywhere the coffee scene was bleak........I know it's cool to hate on big chains. I think I did that when I was a teenager too.
But you have to give credit where it's due. Actually, decent coffee would have been extremely rare in Korea before the big American chains came. Same for fast-food.
Sorry Korea, but coffee and fast-food are not two of your intrinsic strengths. |
To be fair...coffee is not an American intrinsic strength either
Starbucks is at best half decent coffee..you want great coffee go to Europe, some countries in the middle east as well.
Some of the larger North American cities have GREAT coffee but typically those smaller establishments are run by....Italians, French people...
As far as Korea...when I arrived there way back when, by MY standards, coffee was simply horrid. Now you can access half decent coffee at Starbucks, Angels in us and tons of other places. There are even 2 or 3 places we know in Busan that offer almost excellent espresso and lattes... |
Oh, come on Patty. I'm assuming you're in the PacNW??
Some of the best bean roasters in the world inhabit the area like the plague. Yes, Sbux is meh? I don't drink it here. Grind my beans at home. Sometimes T&Ts, Angel or another place. Coffee is just not one of Ks strong points. I don't really think they care. It's more of a meeting place and a status thing; if you're highlighting Sbux.
Vietnamese cafe is to die for!!! I've enjoyed a cup in Italy and France mostly, also.
I hear there is this great roaster in Taebek, but never been out that way. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 10:57 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Steelrails wrote: |
Wait, Starbucks to EXPAND???
I seem to recall every time I'm in Seoul I see one of those things every 30 seconds.
Personally of all the chains, I like Ediya the best. I wish they would expand.
What's next a Mrs. Field's in every shopping mall? A Cinnabon? I swear one of these days I'm going to be rolling through some place like Geoje Island and drive past a Sonic. I think at that point it will be time to pic up shop and head for Mongolia. |
Mrs. Fields would be GREAT! The only thing better than those chocolate chip cookies is the super fudge brownies!
http://food.sndimg.com/img/recipes/10/57/51/large/picAMyFR6.jpg
As for Sonic, how about some Sonic Chili Cheese Fries?
http://www.sonicdrivein.com/menu/viewSectionRecipes.do?sectionId=10002 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lazio
Joined: 15 Dec 2010
|
| Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:33 am Post subject: |
|
|
| eamo wrote: |
| .....my Baratza burr grinder, and pulled through my Gaggia espresso machine.... |
Unfortunately, these stuffs cost twice as much as elsewhere. I have a basic Delonghi which costs 80 bucks in the US but 150k here and the 220V version is 200k.
How did you get yours? Online order from Italy or some other place or you "imported" yourself when you visited your homeland? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
|
| Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 8:03 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Lazio wrote: |
| eamo wrote: |
| .....my Baratza burr grinder, and pulled through my Gaggia espresso machine.... |
Unfortunately, these stuffs cost twice as much as elsewhere. I have a basic Delonghi which costs 80 bucks in the US but 150k here and the 220V version is 200k.
How did you get yours? Online order from Italy or some other place or you "imported" yourself when you visited your homeland? |
Yeah. Espresso equipment is stupid expensive in Korea......
I paid 320,000 for the Baratza Virtuoso grinder.....typically $200 in the west.....The Gaggia Espresso Pure was on sale online at half-price. From over 500,000 down to 280,000....which is just about the typical price for it in the west. It's a really basic machine but just about does the job. It does have a proper commercial quality grouphead, boiler and portafilter and was actually made in Italy.
The cost of the equipment combined with the cost of freshly roasted bean, typically 30,000 per kilo, makes good home espresso a bit of a luxury. But I think that will change soon because the coffee revolution is going strong in Korea. Prices should come down as home brewing gets more popular. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
