Would You Like a Cup of Coffee?

Whimsical and sweet, each episode also has aspects of pertinent issues and sensibilities. It gently takes you along as the main character learns to understand things about the world around him and the people in it. Just a nice way to spend 25 minutes.

This is a slice of life, slow burn series - so it isn't for everyone. It's very coffee industry oriented, but also weaves lessons of life into the narrative, through the main characters and the several guest roles.

These half-hour episodes, 12 of them, means the series is really only 6 hours long. I will say that I needed to not be too tired when watching it, because there weren't any overarching themes to follow. In other words, there was no serial killer to catch, or political enemy to overcome, or a romance you're waiting to see how it ends. It was a window into the lives of some good people whose connections were forged and built on the shared love of coffee, the perfecting of techniques to create the various flavors and consistencies, and the universality that the words "Would you like a cup of coffee?" can open minds and hearts once a person feels seen, heard, understood.

I feel like I've been given such a gift in watching this series. I had just come away from 2 other series that I had to drop because they were too over the top for me. This was exactly the right speed and degree of elegant excellence that I needed.

This is not for everyone. This is for those who are into the slow poetry of a long shot, into the meditative quality of silence, into thinking about what the characters are feeling. It's a gem. When so much media is about speed, intensity, and in your face "this is what you should understand from it," this show give you space to immerse yourself in what a scene means, what the characters are. I find it comparable to "Midnight Diner" for the kind of atmosphere it sets and for the depth of feeling it elicits. Twelve episodes were enough to leave a mark, but I hope there will be more and that if they come they will stay true to the quality of this season.

This show definitely surprised me (In a wonderful way). Watching each Episode is like a treat with several layers of goodness. Every episode walks you through a unique mix various emotions be it happiness, joy, kindness, heartbreak etc. This show definitely grows on you.

Great and strong performances by all the actors. Park Ho-San is a gem of an actor and did justice to his character, Seong-Wu Ong also gave a very strong performance. Such a heartwarming and wholesome show that shows complex relationships, views and teaches life lessons through the journey of the characters and with a teacher teaching his student how to make a great cup of coffee. I highly recommend this show, so happy that I watched this gem of a show.

I don't even drink coffee so the main theme wasn't something I'm interested in normally. But even the way all the coffee trivia is delivered is soft spoken and delicate like the whole series. This is the closest I've seen to 80s/90s Woody Allen in a Korean series. I don't know if that was the intention/inspiration of the creators or not but it was such a pleasant and heart warming surprise.

The colors, cinematography, music, clothing, hair and overall aesthetic. The emphasis on dialogue and relationships, without noise or unnecessary drama. But most importantly for me, how pretty the city setting looked in each frame, just like Woody Allen used to do for New York City. It makes me want to visit Korea, even though I know the reality is different. Just like NYC ;)