▲ The Man Who Knows Coffee A Little / CEO Hyunjun Kim

What does a cup of coffee mean in South Korea? Some say coffee has become more important than rice, the staple food for Koreans. They say that taking a seat by the window for a sip of coffee makes their feel calm and nice of the day. Some say coffee and the smell is like a magic that makes them put down the seemingly important things just for a while. Kim’s interest in coffee started to bud from this habit before it grew as passion.

Kim was born with congenital glass bones. He joined a company at 21 and quit at 29 with a sum of savings to open a coffee shop. He named his business ‘The Man Who Knows Coffee A Little’. He met his wife and family-like staff whom he has worked for 3 to 10 years together in one mine all thanks to coffee. 

Kim and his specialist team are armed with nothing but passion. They developed differentiated tastes. Hand drip, for example, offers 7 to 10 kinds with unique roasting methods while a variety of the menu is realized by the hot selling ‘variation’, ‘café au lait,’ ‘romano,’ ‘almond amaretto’, ‘honey compagna’, ‘Spanish latte’ and ‘flat cappuccino’. Romanno, among them, is most loved by women for a fancy mix of handmade cream, lemon and cinnamon; the ladies call it ‘a magic coffee’. Café au lait, on the other hand, captivates the hearts of all ages for smoothness. 

March this year, The Man Who Knows Coffee A Little opened its second store in Beommeo-dong, Duseong District, Daegu Metropolitan City, just around the flagship store. In addition, the team launched a coffee course at Hyundai department store Daegu and Shinsegae department store Daegu and Busan. 

“A true coffee for me is a coffee made with sincerity and passion” says Kim who led his team to win the 8th rank at the 2018 World Aromaster Championship, the top prize at the 2018 Roasting Technician Championship in Gyeongsang Province region and to be chosen as ‘the best brewed coffee maker’ at the 2018 Golden Coffee Award.

“It is my goal to make all of my staff as CEO of a store one day” says Kim.