Move Over Mr. Tim Hortons!

Koreans love alcohol, but almost just as much, Koreans love coffee.

You know how there are way too many (and never enough) Timmies in Canada? Well it's just the same with Korean coffee chains. Here's the difference though, while Tim Hortons dominates the coffee market in Canada, there are a number of equally popular coffee chains here. 

While I do not ( or rather, cannot) partake in the alcohol culture here, I have fully embraced the coffee! Here are some popular cafe franchises I frequent here.  (Some of the following photos are not mine. They are taken from the blog links under the pictures:))




1. Cat and my favourite- Zoo Coffee. Only in Korea would there be a zoo-themed coffee shop decorated with stuffed animal toys. The cups are zebra and leopard patterned! Other than the animal theme, there's nothing too special about this coffee chain. There is one right outside Cat and my apartment though, and we are here every Sunday to lesson plan. 

http://www.aliensdayout.com/2010/08/finding-comfort-on-rainy-day.html

2. Caffe Bene. A popular coffee chain famous for their waffles and gelato. The waffles are not fantastic but the gelato (while not authentic) is delicious.

http://www.seouleats.com/2010/04/waffles-and-coffee-at-caffe-bene/

3. Tom n Toms. One of my favourites. I love their soft pretzels with cinnamon sugar or ooey gooey cheese and pizza filling.

4. A Twosome Place (lol!) I have never been here. I hear they have good cake.

http://fizzyhasan.wordpress.com/

5. Paris Baguette (pronounced "Bah-lee-bah-get-tuh"). More a bakery than a coffee shop, but you could still sit down for a coffee here. I like to buy egg tarts here for a snack. Remember how I said there were a LOT of coffee shop/bakeries here? In the 4 corners of the intersection where I live, there are paris baguettes in 3 of them. THAT's how many there are. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris-Croissant_Food_Company

6. Tous Les Jours. Another bakery/cafe. Why are all their bakeries named in French? I pass by a Tous Les Jours every morning to get to work. Sometimes I get a breakfast sandwich and a coffee for less than $2! 

http://mjgulinello.wordpress.com/dongtan/

7. Holly's Coffee. There is one close to my school so I come here with my coworkers sometimes after staff dinners. Delicious honey butter bread!

These are just a FEW of the many chains here. Others include : Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Beans Bins, Angel-in-us Coffee, Ediya Coffee, and of course Starbucks. I'm sure I missed quite a few. 

Notice I didn't mention much about the coffee, just the snacks. Here's the truth. The coffee chains here are beautifully decorated with delicious snacks, but their coffee just doesn't measure up. Besides, their sweet smoothies and sweet potato lattes seem to be more popular here anyway. 

Also interestingly, you can't order coffee to your own preference here. You can either order an Americano (black) or drink lattes or cappuccinos.  You don't  have the option to add milk or sugar to your black coffee. You also cannot ask for skim milk (or change anything) in your lattes and cappuccinos.  This isn't simply caused by my incompetence in the Korean language, I double-checked my facts with the local koreans!

But if you want a good cup of coffee, a better bet would be to search for small non-franchised coffeeshops. If you do some exploring, you would find some true gems in this bustling city! The first picture below is my favourite coffee shop here in Seoul. It is close to my school and I come here to study Korean quite often. They have a delicious grapefruit tea, lemonade, and vanilla latte.