Original subtitles

I acknowledge the fact that I'm stubborn…

but I'm also dying to know how coffee made by other people tastes.

A curious boomer?

I apologize. I'll work even harder now.

I need you to go on a business trip tomorrow.

-A business trip? -To Mr. Uhm's.

-Oh, to pick up some beans? -No.

Then?

A field trip. It's a part of your duties.

Oh… Sounds good.

EPISODE 10: A NEW WAVE

-Hey, Go-bi, welcome. -Hello, sir.

Here, say hello. This is our senior barista,

Mr. Lee Seung-woo.

Mr. Kang Go-bi, right? I've heard a lot about you.

-About me? -I went to go see Mr. Park

to learn to make coffee and got turned down.

Pass on some wisdom while you're here.

Shall I give you a tour? This is basically the first floor.

It feels like efficient use of space took a back seat

to aesthetics, doesn't it?

-Let's start with the roasting room. -Sure.

This way.

Wow, I just basically assumed it'd be a similar scale to Edae Coffee.

Seok and I may still be friends because we went in different directions.

I see…

Then do you also do all the roasting yourself?

No, I just sign the paychecks.

We have two roasters, one from the U.S. and one from Colombia.

That's Armando over there.

Hey.

Wow, so you have separate roasters.

They're sitting judges for international competitions

including the Cup of Excellence, so they're quite trustworthy.

Cup of Excellence?

Wow, they're the real deal.

This way.

Aside from their scary paychecks, they're fantastic.

Seeing this large roaster after seeing the 1.2-kg one

at the café all the time… Wow… This is…

I make fun of Seok by calling him the CEO of a hole in the wall.

I believe he calls me a wholesaler instead of a barista?

-Now, let's go back up to B1. -Okay.

Your mother told me that I could stay here as long as I wanted.

I'm the building owner, why do you keep talking about my mother?

Gi-jung, I'm sure you're aware of it,

but there hasn't been a single tenant-landlord conflict

for the past 20 years I've been here,

-and I plan to continue that. -Right.

Why wouldn't I know that?

But why are you asking me to vacate all of a sudden?

Because it's time for a change.

I'm not crazy about mannerisms and maintaining the status quo.

I'd be willing to raise the rent if you could reconsider--

That's not it. There's something that I want to try here.

If I wanted to raise the rent, I would've ages ago.

Then, I hope your business runs smoothly for the rest of the term.

Thank you for your understanding.

How about you close the café earlier today and we go for some soju?

I can't break my promise to the customers.

Yeah. That's not the Park Seok way.

I guess I was just in the mood for it.

You can go get some and drink it in a cup if you want.

-I can let that slide. -You can joke at a time like this?

It may be legal, but it's still a bit heartless.

It's my fault for being unprepared after meeting a nice landlord.

Why are you trying to make me sad?

There was a reason why you sent Go-bi to visit Mr. Uhm now, right?

I can't deny that…

it does feel a bit early.

We built a serving station here, but it's not in use

because we're short-staffed.

I'm sure a lot of baristas would love to work here.

We can't hire just anyone that wants to work here.

And then I happened to hear about you

from Seok.

Pardon?

Sit anywhere you like, I'll go and make you a cup of coffee.

Okay.

This place

isn't a competitor of Edae Coffee.

What brings you by?

Why else would a coffee reviewer be at a café?

That's true--

A café employee visiting another café is more curious.

During business hours

and with such a pretty outfit, no less.

I'm here on a field trip.

Seeing it in person makes you envious, doesn't it?

I'm not sure.

Can't be honest.

This amazing equipment is unimaginable at Edae Coffee.

Why don't you visit Edae Coffee and mention that?

Great spirit, but lacking in the brain department.

I was saying that to you, not Mr. Park.

Must you join us at this table?

Sharing tables if possible is café etiquette.

No one has ever asked him to observe such etiquette.

El Paraiso Strawberry.

It's produced in the high altitudes of the Cauca region of Colombia.

It has a light aftertaste with a proper body.

But the strawberry aroma is… Wow…

Central American coffee tends to have a weaker profile

than African ones.

So there's a lot of interest in experimental processing methods.

You're not going to talk about the sour taste?

I thought you said it was "acidic," not "sour."

Everybody knows it's the same thing.

The ones that can't refute when it's pointed out are the issue.

You're definitely a bit screwed up.

Anyhow, the acidity isn't obtrusive, and there's an excellent balance.

You know how to taste.

It's true that I made this surprising discovery of sour flavor

because of specialty coffee.

But I do find this bias that it will just have a strong sour taste

a bit unfair.

It'd be nice if the price was a bit more competitive.

Thirteen dollars for a cup is a bit…

Seasoned farmers must risk failure

to produce and process using experimental methods

for us to obtain beans with strong profiles.

The roasters must also have the drive to endure altitude sickness

and endemic disease to discover these hidden gem farms.

Baristas come into play at the very end.

It must be properly extracted with good equipment

to be rewarded with high-quality coffee after all that effort.

Just say it has to be expensive. So long-winded…

I never thought that I'd hear Choi call me long-winded.

Now, you understand why it's expensive.

Next, you're going to ask if it's worth the high price tag.

Excuse me.

I'm a coffee critic.

Do you mind if I ask you a question?

What could we possibly know? We'll pass.

Chul-sang, don't be like that. We should socialize.

-Go ahead. -Thank you.

Do you two come here often?

Yes, of course.

I was just wondering… What kind of coffee are you having?

Mine is Panama Geisha.

Joo-eun is having the Colombian-- What was it called?

El Paraiso Lychee.

It's really expensive, but it suits my palate the best.

I see. What do you taste in it?

We have nothing to say if you ask something like that.

Right, it's not like we're critics.

Anyhow, it's different.

Okay then.

Did you see that?

It didn't seem like a particularly productive conversation.

You can clearly tell they're well-off financially.

And they're not in the age group that comes to places like this

to flex and show off on social media.

They can't even analyze the taste profile properly.

Then why would they always come here for coffee

that's more expensive than a meal?

Because it's tasty.

-Correct. -Come on, that's a given.

Something actually good doesn't require an explanation.

Your body intrinsically responds.

I'm incredibly flattered, Mr. Choi Hurt.

I'm just doing my job.

You know I paid for this, too, right?

-What are you doing? -I'm just doing my job as well.

You promised that you wouldn't talk to the other customers.

Here, too?

I heard about what happened at Edae Coffee.

-Go-bi, we'll see each other soon. -Sure. See you next time.

Choi.

Don't come back for a month.

I feel really wronged about today.

And that expensive coffee, I only had two sips.

-Should we make it two? -I'll come back in a month, I guess.

Goodbye.

I never said I'd follow you.

I never expected anything, either. Let's just quietly go our own ways.

Hey, let me ask you something.

Don't just switch tones in front of me. Ask more politely.

Is Mr. Uhm's café really that great?

Are you really asking because you don't know?

In the end, it's the power of money, the taste of money.

Money is also a talent.

-What? -It's not an opinion. I'm asking you.

-Do you agree? -No, not at all.

But then why do you look down on it?

Look down on it? Me?

You think that anyone can do all that if they have money.

To be honest--

What's the minimum amount of points needed to be certified specialty

by the SCAA?

You're the one who's looking down.

Eighty points.

Rich, overly ambitious places that bring in 90-point specialty beans

to roast them like 80-point beans and then extract them

like 70-point beans are dime a dozen.

It's like burning top-grade Korean beef and charging

the same high price.

People that would've thrown a fit at a barbecue place,

smile as they open their wallets at a café.

So you're saying Mr. Uhm's place uses 90-point beans to make

90-point coffee, right?

They lose a few points when the assistants sometimes

make mistakes.

Edae Coffee uses 70-point beans to make 70-point coffee.

They gain a few points through the roasting and extracting process.

Wow, Mr. Park is amazing.

But that doesn't make a used car a luxury sedan.

Thank you for the valuable lesson.

I understand your fervent desire to have your wandering heart return.

You're getting ahead of yourself again.

Maybe not then.

I'm back.

You could've gone straight home. Why'd you come back?

-Sir. -Yeah?

Go ahead.

-Aren't you curious? -About what?

Matt Café, what I thought about it?

That punk, Uhm Sang-ho, made fun of our café for being

a hole in a wall, didn't he?

Are you going to send me there?

Why? You didn't like it?

I liked it.

Enough to make Edae Coffee look pitiful.

That's a relief.

That's strange.

Shouldn't it be a relief if I like this place more?

Going through a new experience gave me the energy to work harder.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Mr. Uhm.

He called me earlier.

He wants to try working with you.

So?

Take a few days off before going to work there.

You're going to fire me?

Yeah.

This doesn't seem right.

-I'm sorry. -Why are you doing this all of a sudden?

This isn't sudden. I've been thinking about it for a while.

Is my salary too much?

That's not it.

Then you should've consulted me first.

Or is this your way of being thoughtful? A chance at a better opportunity?

A better opportunity.

I'm sure it will be, but that's for you to decide.

Then what is it?

Edae Coffee…

I want to go back to the way it was.

Choi was right.

After you came here, Edae Coffee changed a lot, and so did I.

What sort of drastic changes did it go through? I don't understand--

For someone who worked alone for 20 years,

even small changes feel like big ones.

You don't think changes are bad?

It was nice.

I thought it was nice, but…

Right now, I'm not sure.

Eat something while you drink.

I am.

Seok.

Yeah?

Do you have to do that?

Yeah.

What's with the short answers?

Aren't you even frustrated?

Can't be as bad as Go-bi.

Why are you smiling?

-It's heartbreaking. -Yeah.

Why am I smiling?

Pitiful. Just pitiful.

I feel good!

Good.

Jeez.

EDAE COFFEE

Why are you just standing there? You could've gone inside.

I wanted to say goodbye.

You're going straight there?

-Have a cup of coffee before you go. -No.

I'll come back next time.

When?

I think I'll be too busy to come by for a while.

Someday.

You've done well.

I'm sorry for just taking without giving anything back.

Thank you for everything.

Please, be well.

Excuse me.

Do you like the coffee?

Well, it's not bad for a free cup.

It is. It is him. Baek Jong-gil.

This man… is him?

Pull yourself together. Are you going to live like this forever?

What's wrong with living like this?

What?

Take care.

Come again.