Coffee really can change your life

Ong Seong-wu is Kang Go-bi, who visits 2Dae Coffee on a day he’s feeling particularly flat about his job prospects, drinks a ‘god shot’ cup of coffee – a coffee so amazing it’s literally life-changing – and insists owner Park Seok (Park Ho-san) hire him as a barista. Park Seok is a humble and wise mentor to Go-bi, advising him not only in the art of brewing the perfect cup of coffee, but in life, too.

This web series is made up of 12 30-minute episodes, with each a 'slice of life' of one of the regular customers – from Mi-na the webtoon artist, to Choi Heart, the prickly coffee critic. Each vignette is layered with a subtle societal commentary or life lesson, usually at Kang Go-bi’s expense. Personally I enjoyed the exploration of prejudice and bias in episode 8, which saw construction worker Mr Lee trudge into the coffee shop with dirty work boots to drink a filter coffee, served by the bristling Go-bi who can’t understand why someone like Mr Lee, who clearly knew absolutely nothing about coffee, insisted on visiting. The prejudice came from both sides, as Mr Lee didn’t take the artistry behind the coffee-making process seriously, thereby insulting Go-bi’s passion. There’s some particularly heart-warming moments where both men find new respect for each other.

One of the more startling aspects to the drama was the inclusion of a pandemic-related storyline – it literally had me reaching for my remote control, wondering how I’d managed to move to a news station mid-viewing. Like the pandemic turned the world on its head in real life, the juxtaposition of this episode against the others was as startling as it was effective, but with a final few scenes that were sweet and offered flutterings of hope.

This is a short, cosy and healing drama that highlights the ways in which your favourite cafe can be a refuge, part of a daily ritual, a way for people to come together over a shared love for coffee. It’s perfect to watch on a rainy day, snuggled up on the couch with your own steaming cup, brewed to your liking. There’s a beautiful unhurried way in which the stories unfold in each episode – rich and layered, but compact given the length of each episode.

For coffee bean enthusiasts, you’ll enjoy the glimpse into the life of a barista – for those, like me, who love to drink coffee but have zero clue about how it goes from bean to cup, you’ll learn a lot about the many, many considerations that go into each type of coffee – from the cup it’s served in, the temperature of the milk, the flow of the water, the extraction time, the roast of the bean. (Kind of want to enrol in a barista course now!) These descriptions are included so organically, so artfully, you can’t help but wonder if they’re all somehow a metaphor for life.

Personally, I thought this drama was the perfect ode to Korean café culture. Quiet, minimal, soothing. Somewhere to unwind and escape. A chance to soothe your soul over a freshly brewed coffee, or energise with a punchy espresso. As a Melbourne local, good coffee is a source of pride (and competition!). However, café culture here, at least in my opinion, is loud and rushed, with tables packed together and chatter competing with loud overhead music. To be honest, whenever people ask me about my own trip to South Korea, I always mention how much I appreciated the café culture. One of my favourite memories from my trip, is of a café in Busan (I think it was called Chaedo), where I sat with a soy latte and a flaky pastry, listening to the rain patter on the roof. There was soft jazz playing in the background, the lighting was warm and soft, in contrast to the brisk, wet cold outside. There was that spacious unhurried-ness that I came to admire about South Korean cafes. It was so cosy and relaxing I could have stayed all day. A true balm for my soul, just as this drama was. Would You Like a Cup of Coffee? Yes. I really would!

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