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by Cat BARTON
Agence France-Presse
Seoul, South Korea (AFP) — Ok-pop stars BTS drink it. It seems in Ok-dramas. Followers are so devoted to consuming it year-round they’ve coined a brand new South Korean proverb: “Even when I freeze to dying, iced Americano!”
The common-or-garden espresso — pictures of espresso served over ice, topped up with water — has turn out to be South Korea’s unofficial nationwide drink, outselling its scorching counterpart even in the course of the depths of winter, Starbucks information reveals.
Workplace employee Lee Ju-eun, clad in an ankle-length puffer jacket, shivered on the pavement in downtown Seoul as she clutched her iced espresso throughout a polar Vortex chilly snap in January, when temperatures hit minus 17 levels Celsius (1.4 levels Fahrenheit).
“I solely drink this. Iced Americano is less complicated to drink and likewise tastier, so I take pleasure in ingesting it even in winter,” she instructed AFP, gingerly holding the sting of her frozen plastic cup.
“I’m chilly however it’s okay. I can endure it,” she mentioned.
Accountant Lee Dae-hee instructed AFP he drank iced Americanos solely as a result of it was a sooner and extra environment friendly caffeine hit, important in South Korea’s hard-driving “ppalli-ppalli” — hurry-hurry — work tradition.
“I rapidly drink iced Americano to get up and work,” Lee mentioned as he tried to defend his giant cup of espresso from the driving snow whereas speeding again to his workplace after lunch.
“It doesn’t make me chilly as a result of I’m going straight to the workplace and I don’t spend a lot time exterior,” he mentioned.
– ‘Ah-Ah’ –
South Koreans take their espresso significantly.
The common South Korean drinks 353 cups per yr, greater than double the worldwide common, in response to a 2019 research by the Hyundai Analysis Institute.
Espresso tradition has even spawned its personal language.
Iced Americano is called “Ah-Ah” and its die-hard drinkers are generally known as “Eoljuka”, a contraction of a brand new proverb proclaiming they’d freeze to dying for his or her drink.
The development has been seen by company espresso big Starbucks Korea, which ran an “ice problem” promotion the place “Eoljuka” acquired a free dimension improve once they ordered in late January’s sub-zero temperatures.
Iced drinks accounted for 76 % of complete gross sales at Starbucks shops in South Korea in 2022, the corporate mentioned. Even throughout January’s chilly snap they offered extra iced Americanos — 54 % — than scorching ones.
“Individuals’s tendency of consuming items, meals and drinks whatever the climate appear to have turn out to be a brand new development,” Park Han-jo from Starbucks Korea instructed AFP.
Unbiased espresso retailers mentioned their information confirmed the identical factor. Kim Bum-soo, who owns a restaurant in downtown Seoul, mentioned round half his espresso gross sales have been iced Americanos, all yr spherical.
“It does appear that Koreans want chilly drinks,” Kim instructed AFP, including that overseas vacationers, particularly Chinese language, tended to order heat tea even in summer season.
Consuming chilly water and iced drinks is forbidden in conventional Chinese language drugs. Nonetheless, “Koreans simply drink no matter they need, no matter whether or not it’s chilly or scorching exterior,” Kim mentioned.
– Chilly noodles –
One cause Seoul workplace staff love iced Americanos might be that their workspaces are too scorching and stuffy, cafe proprietor Kim mentioned.
Self-confessed “Eoljukah” Jeong Jae-won, 30, agreed.
“It’s heat contained in the workplace so I’m going to drink it there,” she mentioned.
It’s not simply workplace staff who love the beverage. Ok-Pop megastar Suga of BTS is ceaselessly photographed with an iced Americano in hand, regardless of telling followers he was attempting to chop again on caffeine.
Overseas Ok-pop followers have mentioned at size in on-line boards NCT Dream’s Jaemin’s most well-liked model of “Ah-Ah”: eight pictures of espresso served over ice.
South Korea’s “Ah-Ah” habit might be linked to its delicacies, mentioned Jang Jun-woo, a meals columnist who runs a tapas wine bar.
Meals such because the chilly noodle dish naengmyun, which is served with ice cubes within the broth, is an integral a part of native custom however not often seen elsewhere.
“Even in Japan folks don’t truly put ice of their chilly udon noodles,” Jang instructed AFP.
“The diploma of chilly meals tradition is extra excessive in Korea and which will clarify the recognition and prevalence of iced espresso right here.”
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