STiR coffee and tea magazine

62 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 2, 2018 (April / May) This exposure allowed Korea time to appreciate the convenience of many instant products, leading to their fondness for solubles. But while instant coffee is becoming more premium and diverse, sales are not responding like they are for RTD. After 4.3% growth in 2012, instant coffee sales fell sharply in 2013-14, each time by a margin of 10-12%. That's likely a result of increasing RTD sales, an abundance of stylish cafés selling cheap coffee, and advances in home brewing technology. It doesn't help that news agencies and health-conscious consumers be- came aware of the health-risks associated with the high-sugar content of most soluble products. Similar risks exist for high-sugar RTD products, but for various reasons those have managed to stay relevant with Korean consumers. Korean innovation in your kitchen Korean innovation goes beyond great brewing techniques and cozy cafés. Companies are showing their skill and originality in designing attractive, high- quality roasters and brewing equipment — and the world is taking notice. Stephen Kim of the Cafflano group says the company started developing their portable, sustainable brewing products once they realized that Korea's market was about to shift from purchasing out-of-home coffee in specialty cafés to home brewing. "We thought soon people would enjoy brewing their own quality coffee, selecting specialty beans by themselves," he says. This led to the invention of an all-in-one pour-over coffee maker. They set themselves apart by making the product completely portable, as well as sustainably built. Now they're available in more than 80 countries, and won Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) awards for best new product three years in-a-row. The demand for great products is strong enough that developers from other industries have started to jump ship. They're coming from the ceramics industry and automotive manufacturing for a chance to create home brewing and roasting products that coffee drinkers are excited about. Yongsoo Jeon works for CM Tech, a brand that specializes in 'ceramics engineering,' and has now expanded into coffee. Under the brand Ceroffee, they took their skills in ceramics and used them to create flame-retardant ceramic coffee roasters. Innovations like this are what's getting Korean brands international attention. As Miji Kim of Taehwan Automation says, other countries now have their eye on Korea's brewing and roasting products. Brands like Terarosa succeed in Korea's dense concentration of cafés with a reputation for specialty coffee served fast "Korea is introducing different products from the ones existing now," she says. Their company is the maker of small roasters like the THCR-01, popular in roasting labs and academies, where Ko- reans have been flocking to earn their barista cer- tifications. "Koreans are known to be skilled with their hands. I expect Korean products will see a good response in the global market in the future." A story of sustainable beans Coffee drinkers on the peninsula also show a keen interest in the story behind their beans, wanting to know where they came from, how they're grown, and who's supplying them. The result has been café owners and roasters who literally go the extra mile (or 1,000) to buy direct, and develop sustain- able relationships with growers. "Korean customers want to consume a cup of coffee with a particular story," said Hyun-ki Lee, owner of MOMOS, one of Korea's largest inde- pendent cafés. "It's easier for consumers to feel the difference in flavor when they know the story behind the bean." Lee spends several months every year trav- eling to origin countries, building relationships with growers, and finding the best beans. He says his customers have evolved over the years, and now demand more than just great taste from their coffee. "Customers of specialty coffee have a relative- ly high economic and educational level. They don't regard coffee as a mere drink, but want to know if their coffee has come to them through a trustwor- thy path, that their consumption is causing a good deed for the sustainable development of society." Lee says this is good for suppliers as well. His spending so much time with growers has allowed for better access to high-quality beans, as his rela- tionship with suppliers deepens. According to Lee, good relationships are the recipe for any lasting business partnership. Coffee doubles down The Korean coffee market has come a long way in a short time, and it's not slowing down. In 2017, Seoul hosted the World Barista Championship, al- lowing the country's baristas and vendors to show the world just how busy they've been. A thirst for specialty coffee and RTD products makes the Ko- rean coffee industry an exciting place to be, while Korean designed products are wowing buyers at home and abroad with appealing designs and new innovation. With a majority of Korean cof- fee imported from overseas, opportunities abound for growers who can tell the right origin stories. The Korean market is still growing, and as Lee so plainly put it, "for the time being, this growth and diversity will continue to expand."

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