Posted by Steve Ward

I finally started the end-all-be-all of projects to find the best places to get coffee in Seoul. I’ve been wanting to create an interactive map of some kind for quite some time and have finally figured out how to do it.

Here’s the thing: I need help with this. I need people to add their own favorite places to the map so that we can all help each other. As such, I want to give contributors their due, and since I already have it set up on my own private blog, rather than re-embedding the map here, I’ll have to ask you to go over there to play around with and contribute to the project. This is not to try and bum traffic off of ZenKimchi. This is just so that I’ll be able to easily update the site with contributors in one place as needed.

Anyway, I hope people can get some use/entertainment out of it.

Steve Ward has been living in Seoul for nearly five years now and has dabbled in many different hobbies and types of work in that time. SteveWard.TV is the homepage of his official online presence.

Posted by ChubbO Chubbington

I’m not usually a fan of hot tea. Even a year of consumption in England, in the home of the Devon Cream Tea could not fully convert me. (Although, I will eat anything if you put cream on it. Probably.) Because of my undying devotion to the Southern Iced Sweet Tea my momma makes, I had never been able to truly enjoy a hot tea. Until I found Magic Tea.

Magic Tea is also known as iseul cha 이슬 차 or suguk cha 수국 차. In English, it has been called dew tea, mountain dew tea, morning dew tea, and hydrangea tea. See? So many names, what’s one more? I call it Magic Tea. Because when you drink this tea, magic happens in your mouth.

At first sip, when the tea hits your tongue, you might think something along the lines of, “Hey, did I order hot water?” But then. Oh then, you swallow. And that’s when the magic happens. Yeah, this tea is so magical it doesn’t even have to be in your mouth for you to taste it. This sweetness crawls up from the back of your mouth and then runs over your tongue. And it’s not a hint of sweet, either. It’s serious sweet.

Looking at the scrawny, grey-green leaf of the hydrangea (it’s not made from the flower, as one would expect) doesn’t give the right impression. But, we are dealing with magic here, so we can’t stake everything on appearance. In my experience, once the tea is served, you should wait at least one minute before pouring. And then, it’s perfection in liquid form.

So, obviously, I check every teahouse I go to for Magic Tea. I found a beautiful Gallery Café called Miru Namu 미루나무, which means Poplar Tree, while traveling around Jeju-do at Christmas. We stopped in for coffee, and despite caffeinated goodness on my brain, I just happened to flip to their small tea menu. I was so excited to find this scrumptious tea because honestly, our vacation had been grey and gloomy until we set foot in Seogwipo 서귀포. We had ventured down south to check out the museum and town dedicated to the artist Lee JungSeop 이중섭. In the picture below, you can see his art on lampposts running up the street.

His paintings are reproduced on the sides of buildings, carved into the grates in the street, and set upon great tall posts that look down to the sea. It’s a great place and the few hours we spent in Seogwipo saved our vacation from totally sucking, especially the 5 or so cups of Magic Tea I downed in Miru Namu.

So, Magic Tea not only makes your mouth happy, it is now in the business of saving vacations. And also convincing good ol’ front-porch sittin’, iced tea sippin’ southern gals like me that a cup of hot tea can indeed hit the spot.

And you can stop whining about how you can’t afford a trip to Jeju just for tea (although it may be worth it because I would move my entire life to Seogwipo this instant if it was possible), because you can find hydrangea/dew/iseul tea in Seoul, too. I’ve had it in Insadong a number of times at a number of different cafés and even found a good canister of it at Hyundai Department Store last year. So, go out and get some of that magic in your mouth.

ChubbO Chubbington has lived in Korea for about 2 years. She has been gifted with the ability to eat spicy food and not complain about it or sweat while doing so. She leaves the cooking to her Korean husband and focuses mainly on consumption. She knows Krispy Kreme is not one of the main food groups, but hopes to rectify this injustice in the future. She is currently living in Wonju and writes at Wonju Wife when she’s not stuffing her face.

Posted by Steve Ward

“CBTL” is supposedly the high-end brand of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. At the Seoul Finance Center location they boast their fancy espresso machine, which is the espresso machine of choice of the pope.

After hearing about the place like six months ago I finally found myself in the neighborhood and popped in to check it out.

Posted by Steve Ward

I was asked recently by a friend what the price range was for buying coffee beans specifically at the import chain coffee shops. I happened to have my video camera with me so just decided to pop into the places around my office and see for myself, as I’ve been buying my beans from independent roasters for quite a while and really had no idea what was being charged these days.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Viddler video.
I’ve got another video coming out tomorrow. Hope these have been useful!

You may have heard about Vinestock from the other sites. There’s a reason for this. It’s one of those special gems that everyone should know about and support. The dreamchild of French sommelier Thomas Scheidt, Vinestock hunts around the world to import the finest wines, olive oils, vinegars, coffees and more.

But the reason we really like Vinestock is Thomas himself. He has the rare combination of knowledge and humility, a lover of fine things without the pretentious BS. He swirls his wine, but he does it because he knows what to look for*. It’s also interesting hearing him talk about the wines that best match Korean foods–his other passion.

You’ll be hearing about Vinestock more and more in the future. They’ve teamed up with Villa Sortino’s to do a tasting menu matched with wines. They are involved in a lot of consultation. But the true passion of Thomas is bringing people into his world to understand why he loves wine so much. It’s all about education. And here are some educational opportunities from Thomas himself.

From Monday December 7 until Saturday December 19, VineStock will have a Wine Tasting of 5 different wines (1 white /4 reds)

Promotion operation hours: 11am-8.30pm (Monday to Friday)
11am-5.00pm (Saturday)

Please see below the selection

White:
- 2008 Gewuztraminer “Les Folastries” – Domaine Josmeyer (ALSACE/France)

Red:
- 2005 Chianti “Classico” – Carpineto (TOSCANA/Italia)

- 2005 Cotes de Provence “Terre de Croix” – Chateau Roubine (PROVENCE/France)

- 2006 Bordeaux Cotes de Francs – Chateau Pimpine (BORDEAUX/France)

- 2004 Marsannay – Domaine Joseph Roty (BOURGOGNE/France)

Price per person: 25000 Won Fresh French baguette will be provided during the tasting

Glasses to be used : INAO (Professional Tasting Glass)

Not enough? Thomas also will offer valuable wine classes to match everyone’s budget in 2010.

바인스톡에서 WINE CLASS는 다음과 같이 운영됩니다.
1. 2010년 1월 8일(금) PM7H30~9H30 (2시간/회당) 부터 매주 금요일 수업(자세한 날짜는 다음 공지사항에서 확인가능)
2. 2010년 1월~6월까지 2개월단위로 “The “Necessary”Package 부터 단계별로 수업진행
3. 한달에 4회 수업을 기준으로 Thomas SCHEIDT씨에 의해서 선택된 12 아이템의 와인을 가지고 수업 진행(단, 수업진행자의 의도에 따라 매회보다는 매달 기준으로 12아이템 선정방식)
4. 수업비는 수업참가 전에 결재요망.(입금/카드결재 둘다 가능)
5. 패키지 중 2개 이상을 한번에 지불하시는 참가자분께는 총 지불액의 20% 우대할인(단, 지불 후에 대한 신청자 수업 불참가에 대한 환불은 불가)
6. 수업 불참시,사전에 연락요망.

WINE CLASS

- The “Necessary” Package: 70,000 won(VAT별도)/per class

- Discovering Basic Wine aromas
- How to taste Wine (basic steps)
- How do we make still Wine (white/red/rose)
- How do we make sparkling Wine?
- Description of the most famous White wine grapes
(Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc etc…)
- Description of the most famous Red wine grapes
(Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir etc…)
- Anatomy of a Winery
- How to open and serve Wine?
- What’s the proper way to store wine for an optimal ageing

- The “Expert” package: 100,000 won(VAT별도)/per class

- How to read wine labels from all over the world
- Description of major regional white grapes (Pinot Blanc, Marsanne, Viognier etc..)
- Description of major regional red grapes (Grenache Noir, Nebbiolo, Zinfandel etc…)
- The different steps of sweetness in wine (bone dry, dry, medium dry etc…)
- Recognize the 4 models of primary Tastes components
(Acidity, Sweetness, Bitterness, Saltiness, Tannin)
- The Wine – grower’s year (from January to December)
- Professional Tasting Terms (ex: Crisp, aromatic, penetrating etc…)
- How to match Food and Wine ( basic session with service of Food & Wine)
- Where the best wines from the “Old World” are made (France, Italy, Spain, Germany etc…)
- Where the best wine from the “New World” is made (USA, Australia, Argentina etc.)
- Major aromas and flavors crib
- Wine and ageing capability
- The influence of soil and climate to make great wines

- The “ultimate Vinestock Afficionados” Package: 150,000 won(VAT별도)/per class

- Definition of “Terroir “, explanation of common type of soil
- Definition of “old Vines” and “Pre-phylloxera Vines”
- Difference between an bio-dynamic wine and organic wine?
- How to recognize a wine which hasn’t been stored properly?
- The importance of oak in a wine.
- The different type of cork
- Less known aromas and flavours found in wine
- Wine defaults (corked wines, oxidized wines, volatile acidity etc…)
- 3 point to Quality : Cleanliness%
- How to set-up a professional Tasting?
- Less known quality White wine grape (Albarino, Gruner Veltliner, Furmint etc…)
- Less known quality Red wine grape (Aglianico, Carignan, Blaufrankisch etc…)
- Wine-buying strategies to built your own Wine cellar
- Serving order for a formal dinner with guests (carafe, decanting etc….)
- Food & Wine matching with Korean Food
- Blind Tasting “Technique”

Per request, they can also do depth sessions on global wines and regional wines.

Vinestock is located in Seorae-ma-eul 서래마을, south of the Express Bus Terminal Station, across from Paris Croissant on the fourth floor.

To sign up for the classes, call (02) 536.6081. They speak Korean, English and French.

* Those of us in the Anthony Bourdain foodie camp believe there are two kinds of wine swirlers–those that actually have education in wine and those pretending to know about wine to impress others.

Posted by Steve Ward

It’s the weekend! Why not branch out and visit a new area of Seoul this time around?
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It seems like everyone has been to Shincheon once or twice to meet someone that lives near there. It’s a nice little area with some great places to enjoy.

Best places in Shincheon

Realized a map would probably be beneficial. I also found:

• a Korean blog with some nice pics of Aladdin
• an older blog post about Pao Pao (seriously, the Jjinbang there is my favorite wintertime comfort food in the world)
• the Naver Cafe for Burn
• pics of the awesome liquor at Mr. Saimon (also a favorite gathering place of the Korea scotch Malt Whiskey Society).

Then my browser crashed and I gave up

The Korea Herald has posted a piece I wrote about my infused soju experiment.

‘Tis the season for seriously infused soju

It’s not there yet, but it’s getting closer.  Hite Max, known as the only Korean beer that uses hops, has come out with the limited edition Max Special Hop 2009.

Now, I had thought that there was a shortage of hops worldwide this year.  Looking at the back, they Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand.  Doing some research, I found that Nelson Sauvin hops are a little unique and give a grape/wine-like aroma.

Personally, I found a little bit of a difference between this and regular Hite Max.  I actually was drinking both side by side (what else do you expect me to do on my staycation).  It’s a very subtle difference, but beer connoisseurs will catch a little more of a floral quality.  I’m guessing someone got a good deal on a boatload of these hops and is trying to squeeze the most out of the shipment.

Maybe we’re seeing what direction Korean beer may go as it matures.  They’ll still be light but will emphasize fruity and flowery aromas.

Gourmet Magazine posts a recipe for an Apple Soju Cocktail as part of their Halloween collection. The recipe is by David Arnold of the French Culinary Institute and passed along by David Chang of Momofuku.