Zen's Booze Review: 7brau India Pale Ale
Feb 23, 13
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Andrew Salmon’s take on beer in Korea
Not to be outdone, legendary Korea pundit and one-time ZenKimchi contributor Andrew Salmon has a thing or two to say about Korea’s flaccid beer duopoly (flaccid in the taste, not the power). If the government lowered the ceiling on beer production, it could release a wave of entrepreneurial Korean microbrewers. Might we see...
read moreKorean Beers in the News
Wow, the two big Korean breweries are getting a double punch this week. First is an in-depth piece (as in tons of numbers) by our good friend Joshua Hall (Wine Korea) in The Wall Street Journal. He talks about how the FTAs barely put a dent in beer prices in Korea because of all the other taxes levied on beer. Despite that the...
read moreThe Coffeeist Manifesto: No More Bad Coffee!
If you have enjoyed my occasional posts about coffee in Korea, you might like my new book, The Coffeeist Manifesto, just released on the Amazon Kindle store. This book contains everything the novice coffee aficionado needs to know about the coffee industry, how to make awesome coffee at home, and how to not get ripped off when...
read moreThese Three Teas of Orient Are
Sep 29, 12
Apologies for the cheesy title – I couldn’t resist. It’s my first Korean autumn. The intense humidity has finally abated, and I am eager to see the world turn red and gold. There’s no need to add ice to my morning coffee, and I’m rediscovering the joy of warm tea in the evening. Being South African, I was one of many raised on...
read moreBreaking News: Korean coffee chains skimp on coffee
Aug 06, 12
Just when I thought my coffee-related posts at ZenKimchi had run their course, the Joongang prints this article about a study by the Korea Consumer Agency that made me spit out my coffee: Coffee chains skimping on beverage quantities That Starbucks Americano might come in a grande cup, but that doesn’t mean it’s full. In its...
read moreLooking for the Best Coffee in Seoul?
Aug 01, 12
There’s a great write-up on 10 Magazine’s website on the 10 best coffee shops in Seoul. Here’s what they had to say about one of my favorite coffee shops: Club Espresso – Buam-dong Repel North Korean commando attacks and hike down from Inwangsan to find the safest coffee bunker in Seoul. Club Espresso has a...
read moreCold brew coffee: Easy, cheap, delicious and home-made
Jun 20, 12
Following up on the theme of my last post regarding a coffee question from a ZenKimchi reader, I thought I would share my personal method for making cold brew coffee. If you ask a coffee connoisseur to recommend a ‘coffee maker’ for you, they will probably giggle with delight and point you in the direction of something...
read moreCoffee Question: Dutch coffee
I recently received a great coffee question in my inbox from ZenKimchi reader Ron Handel: …this past week at work a parent brought me a bottle of Dutch coffee. It is in what looks close to a wine bottle. The directions on how to enjoy it are written in Korean so I am out of luck. What is your recommendation on the best way to...
read moreSeoul Coffee Expo 2012
The success of the Korea Cafe Fair, held in the tail end of winter the past two years, seems to have motivated the COEX convention center to start organizing their own effort, the Seoul Coffee Expo. I, on behalf of ZenKimchi, was on hand for the first annual expo. “Why fix what isn’t broken” seemed to be the...
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