Discovering Korean coffeeshops: Maxime Laoun tells us about his experience

The world of sports and the world of coffee are closely linked, and it's not unusual to find sports fans who also enjoy the flavour and comfort of a good cup of coffee. This is particularly true for Maxime Laoun, an Olympic athlete in short-track speed skating and one of our brand ambassadors.

Last March, the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships were held in Seoul, South Korea. It was the first time Maxime had been to the country for a competition, and although he generally has very limited time to visit the cities between his training sessions, he did have the opportunity to take a few coffee breaks there, and he told us about his experience.

When he arrived in the country, one of the first things he noticed was the number of small shops serving coffee. Near his hotel, it was not uncommon to see several coffee shops in the same office building! With the exception of certain large chains, it's hard to find coffee before 11am, and these shops can close as late as 1am!

Increasingly popular meeting places, cafés in South Korea mainly offer filter coffees, brewed by hand using V60s or syphons. Very few of the coffee shops Maxime visited offered espressos; but if they did, they had top-of-the-range espresso machines and professional equipment. He also saw small roasters roasting their beans directly on the spot!

We'd like to thank Maxime Laoun for sharing his experience of coffee in South Korea with us and taking us on a journey with him!