coffee problems

Coffee shops are everywhere, but their ubiquity is apparently a fairly recent phenomenon. Most seem to have espresso machines and auto grinders and the better ones are usually packed, but mostly in the evening. "Getting coffee" seems to be a mostly eveningtime endeavor done by young people; along the route from my apartment to school, I pass at least a dozen coffee shops every morning that are all closed. "Morning joe" is an unknown concept for most here.

Huisten is a decent little 24-hour coffee shop below my building that I sauntered into recently to see about getting an iced coffee, and was pleased to see they indeed served it. I was further pleased when the barista walked back to a refrigerator and poured it, in that old familiar way, from a plastic pitcher - usually a sign that this is toddy brew. Realizing I had found actual toddy brew so close to my apartment in this foreign land, it became all I could do to contain my excitement. He brought it to me, I took my first sip, and knew I'd surely found the pit where all of my dollars would soon begin disappearing into. But those ice cubes in there are more like ice golf balls, and this cup ain't exactly "venti," but whatever. I'm in the moment.

The dream ended just as it began when 4500 won was asked of me for this fleeting bliss, and my heart sank. $4.50 for this little thing with the huge ice balls? Sure the coffee was delicious, but I had problems paying $3 for my usual 16-ouncer at Bennu. This is unsustainable. I suppose, though, that if I am going to get any sort of a coffee fix in East Asia, there is no other alternative if I'm looking for the real deal. I'll get a french press soon and shell out $8 for a small-ish bag of ground Tesco brand over at HomePlus, or just keep buying the cold cans of Georgia that have virtually zero caffeine.

Incidentally, if you're considering sending me a parcel...