Would You Like a Cup of Coffee?

After the manic extravagance of CGI super heroes, overly sentimental disease of the month dramas, guessable mysteries and unfunny comedies, too often full of foul language and over the top fight scenes, this series is a breath of fresh air. The acting is such that you feel they are not acting, that they are the real people they portray. It is a series of moments intertwining a group of people's lives, centered around a coffee shop. The humor is light, the drama is believable, and their stories are like fresh brewed fine quality coffee. Another viewer hoped there will be a continuation, but with the same quality of this delightful view into these characters.

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 a masterpiece of life. It is a study in quality. It is a quiet and beautiful story of choices in a life. There is no trauma, no blood. It is quiet , sweet, yes full in its truth. It reminds me some of the master chef in midnight diner. (another gem) but this is day. The discoveries of the apprentice also change the master . It has a zen quality, it is a story of the heart between friends. It is beautifully made. I was never bored. Each episode is a short 35min or so . Easily digestible.

I found it magical how everyone responds and enriches eachothers life . I hope to watch it all again soon.

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 ;)

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.