Caffeine Eldorado

I’ve been in Korea a few weeks now and I have taken advantage of the number of coffee houses here. Coffee shops and bakeries are spread all over the city and they can produce a pretty decent cup of coffee. I’ve seen Krispy Kremes, Dunkin’ Donuts along, Starbucks, and a myriad of local coffee houses and donut shops. What I didn’t expect to see here was Café Artegiano.

I knew that they had opened a franchise here a few years ago but I also knew that it was in an out of the way location south of the city center. It just so happened that I was shopping in that particular mall when I remembered that Café Artigiano was located there. Sure, the lattes really slipped when they stopped using Intelligentsia Coffee and their rapid expansion has lead to some spotty barista skills but that first sip so far away from home was like ambrosia. All things considered, it wasn’t too bad. The foam was a bit stiff but the latte wasn’t too bad at all. Good enough to make me involuntarily shut my eyes and savor the best latte I’ve had since I’ve been in Asia.