Shall I Have a Cup of Coffee? (2021)

12 beautifully pulled shots of coffee

Would You Like a Cup of Coffee? is a KakaoTV production spanning 12 episodes, each being 25-30 mins long. Highlighting the ordinary and simpler things life has to offer, it is a heartwarming story of people, and of course-coffee!
The drama starts off with one of our lead characters, Kang Go Bi, seen exiting an exam hall after having failed to clear the civil service examination for what appears to be, not his first attempt at it. Struggling to find the right words, he texts his mom about it and is met with an encouraging and supportive response. The conversation ends with him deciding to get himself a cup of coffee and start preparing for the exam once again. It is for this cup of coffee that he stumbles upon 2nd Generation Coffee House and we get introduced to the owner and other lead, Park Seok. This cup of coffee that he gets served at the café is what awakens and confirms his passion for coffee, giving him a dream for his future and the determination to pursue the world of coffee.

Would You Like a Cup of Coffee is all about the microcosm of the coffee house and its atmosphere, and it pretty much excels at it. You don't have to be a coffee connoisseur yourself to be able to understand the emotion that goes into a job well done, or the passion behind the pursuit of perfection. There is nothing quite dramatic or exciting in the course of this series and its beauty lies in the fact that it is a story as ordinary as one can get.

The main characters, Park Seok and Go Bi complement each other rather beautifully, and it's their mentor-mentee relationship that makes this drama what it is. The other characters, either recurring or not, are sketched out sparsely, and are mostly used as tools to get a message across to the viewers.
The actors playing the main leads have done a great job and are convincingly passionate about coffee...it was wonderful to see how they gradually got comfortable with each other over a shared interest, as the drama progressed.

The cinematography and direction are worth mentioning, for each frame, each scene of this drama is aesthetically pleasing, subtle and artistic. The sort of sepia tone used in capturing this series is rather perfect and really sets the mood for it.

The format of this drama is like a potpourri of different types of people and themes, that leave lingering messages for the viewer to mull over. And just like a cup of coffee, it isn't a drama that should be gulped down in one go but something that should be savoured, enjoying one sip at a time. The episodes almost always provide a sense of closure to the viewer, yet leave it open to interpretation, and the balance struck in maintaining the two is seamless!
This drama doesn't have elements that would give it a mass appeal, but rather caters to a fewer number of people, all of whom would whole-heartedly enjoy this sweet, nuanced, slice-of-life story.

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