Place: Coffee

There are a couple places worth mentioning since I've been here. I haven't written in a while, and there is a lot to write about, but I figure it is best to just dive in to whatever topic comes along.

I live quite close to the school, within a few minutes walk, and within less than a minute is Cafe 1982. The cafe is tiny, but also serves some of the best coffee I've had in Korea. Maybe that just means I haven't had particularly good coffee here... but I think their coffee is better than your average, regardless of location. For you coffee drinkers who're a bit more particular about the specifics, I've only gotten cafe lattes there, so when I say they make good coffee, I mean their espresso con steamed milk (+froth) is pretty good. Compared to most other coffee places, they're also very reasonably priced (2700W ~$2.00).

Comparatively, there is a larger shop called Ivy House, which is closer to the school.. and they make terrible coffee. It is also more expensive (4000W ~$3.20)!

Seoul doesn't suffer from any shortage of coffee shops. They are just about everywhere I've been, and I've been to a lot of areas. The popularity of coffee and meeting with people at coffee shops is really remarkable. I think there can be a lot of assumptions made out of this fact. Like some European cities I've been to, it is much more common to go out with people to a location than to have people to one's house. This makes a lot of sense when you realize that most living areas (usually apartments) aren't very large, so hosting can be a bit awkward.

I'll try to get some pictures of 1982, and maybe interview the owners. One of my coworkers said he had some of their waffles yesterday and can attest that they're incredible. Hmm! Asking for a cafe latte: "Cafe latte hana, ju-saeyo."

The other coffee place worth mentioning is where I bought some beans. There's a place in Hongdae where they roast green beans and sell freshly roasted beans. (I think it's called Make Beanz). Mmm! I bought some Yirgacheffe a week or so ago and it has been a nice alternative to buying lattes at 1982 as I walk to school in the morning. The beans are expensive, but still significantly cheaper than buying the drink. An interesting fact about buying coffee here... they often will charge you 1000W ($0.80) more to get it with ice.