Coffee Gangnam Style

Imagine a place that has such a large number of coffee places that its' government is considering to implement laws and regulations for a minimum distance between each of them.

Imagine a place where a takeaway cup from a specific coffee place counts as a status symbol.

Welcome to South Korea.

South Korea was one of the last cultures to get accustomed to coffee as we know it. The first time coffee was registered in South Korea was in 1895. Antoinette Sonntag, the German sister-in-law of the Russian Ambassador, served a brewed coffee to King Gojong during his visit. Apparently, he was so amazed by her filter coffee that he initiated the opening of the first coffee bar in the heart of Seoul.

His expectations did not match his people though. South Korea was a tea-loving country at the time, and quite warily before trying new specialties. Therefore this coffee bar had to close its doors shortly after.

What followed was a long dry period in terms of coffee. If there was coffee at all, it was for tourists or foreign military that was stationed in South Korea. Coffee was almost irrelevant for the Koreans. This only changed with the first opening of a Starbucks in 1999. This was the initiation of one of the most impressive coffee conquests any country ever witnessed.

Every Korean has consumed 500 cups of coffee on average 2016.

In the last 20 years the annual consumption of coffee has reached an amount of 657,000 tons per year. In other words: Every Korean has consumed 500 cups of Coffee on average in year 2016. This surreal development shows again that coffee can have a societal power that goes beyond only being a caffeinated drink. It has become a major side effect when you regard the political development in the country. The pro-western attitude is being reflected in the huge increase of Starbucks shops all over the country, but especially in Seoul.

Also, and more interestingly, latte art is being used to express political opinions. For a long time, it was a famous phenomenon to draw the profile of Kim Jong-Un on different types of coffee.

In case you did not expect all this, you might have listened better in the past. Remember South Koreas most famous music export Psy? In his Mega-Hit “Gangnam Style” from 2011 he already glorifies Coffee, claiming he is being a real Man because he drinks a cup of coffee in one gulp, and mentioning that a lady with class knows how to enjoy her coffee. Word!

“¿Puede darme un café, por favor?”

Café de Olla.

It is strongly connected to Mexican history and lifestyle.

When it comes to Mexico most of us instantly think about burritos, tequila and temperamental Latin vibes. Others remember the great ancient cultures that have originated in Mexico and the beautiful landscapes. However, of all Latin-American Countries, Mexico might be the least associated with Coffee.

But let’s have a look at the facts: Even though the first coffee beans have been cultivated rather early in the 18th century it took quite a while until coffee became popular among the Mexican population. There´s a quite simple reason for this: Mexicans did not care about coffee. They had a long-lasted tradition of other plants and resources. Of course this has changed drastically by the time. Nowadays, Mexico is one of the most important countries worldwide when it comes to coffee growing and one of the most interesting countries when it comes to coffee consumption.

On the one hand, Mexico is one of the major countries when it comes to coffee plantations. It is known for very high-quality Arabica beans, which are supposedly less sour but much stronger than many other beans. Most famous might be the Maragogipe, also known as the Elephant Bean.

Let´s have a look at how Mexicans drink coffee first. Basically, it is coffee that is brewed with cinnamon, vanilla and a generous addition of cane sugar -  Café de Olla. It is strongly connected to Mexican history and lifestyle. During the Mexican revolution, Café de Olla was regularly prepared for the soldiers by their so-called soldaderas, so they would stay energized throughout the day. It is also known for being Mario Zapata´s favorite kind of coffee. As he is an important figure in the indigenous history, Mexicans wouldn´t let anything negative come to their Café de Olla. Until today, it is a main offer in the highly sophisticated third wave coffee places in Mexico City and the other major cities. Also, when you go to the US, especially the Westcoast, you´ll find excellent baristas among the huge Hispanic Community who would love to serve this type of coffee.

Funnily, there is another side to Mexican Coffee-Drinking habits. Mexico is the country with the highest per-head consumption of Nescafe.  But this should be only a side-fact.

Master of Beans and Latte Art

So apparently you do need an MBA to find out that making your own coffee is not just a prerequisite when you decide to work for a startup, but also a skill, art and science.

Did you actually know that coffee is a cherry-like fruit? That people used to eat coffee? That the first coffee brewed probably tasted worse than dishwasher water? Some still do apparently...Well, three months ago when we had the glorious idea to get into the coffee trade, we did not even know the difference between an arabica bean and a hazelnut... 

The easier part for sure was to make assumptions out of thin air, validate them in an Excel sheet, prove the business case in Word and prepare an outstanding summary presentation in power point. Not really - now the real work is to actually get the milk foam just about the right temperature and consistency so that the hearts you attempt to draw on your latte do not look like rotten apples.

More importantly, now we know better: not just do our hearts look legit,.but we also know our Colombian from the Ethiopian and get the milk to espresso ratio right, we know a flat white from a cappuccino and understand why you should never never never keep your beans ground and exposed to air. 

The longest practical class and exhausting learning curve along the coffee belt - but totally worth it when your new office smells of fresh ground coffee every day.