Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Coffee and Buddhist temples seem like an odd combination.
But at a Buddhist temple in Gangwon Province, an area famous for its annual coffee festival,
the monks are the baristas and the coffee is just part of the experience.
Michelle Kim has the details.
At a Buddhist temple in the midst of Gangneung's Man-wel Mountain , a group of monks is busy
roasting coffee in a brazier fired up by charcoal. The roasted coffee beans cool as they are
winnowed like rice. The beans are then put into a millstone to
be ground. The monks claim that the use of traditional
Korean items to make their coffee creates a different flavor than might be expected.
(KOREAN) "When you use a millstone, the coffee beans
are crushed into grounds, but coffee grinders cut the beans into pieces. That's why the
two taste different."
The monk's skills as a barista are evident, as he slowly pours water into a cup filled
with the crushed coffee grounds. Afterward, the monks offer the coffee to temple
visitors, who drink it out of the same small cups usually used for traditional tea ceremonies.
Monks at this temple, Hyundeok-sa, have been roasting their own coffee for the past three
years, and recently, they've added a coffee-making workshop to their regular templestay program.
Visitors who participate in the program, which also includes traditional meals and an overnight
stay, are able to see and learn about the whole process of making coffee, including
roasting and grinding the beans.
(KOREAN) "I love that the flavor of the coffee lingers
in my mouth for a while... and the coffee is even more delicious because I'm surrounded
by nature."
This unique blend of Buddhist tradition and coffee has brought forth a new Korean flavor
-- and it's one you likely won't want to miss. Michelle Kim, Arirang News.