Cortados are on the menu at Coffeed, a new outpost of the New York-based cafe chain of the same name.
At just over 100 ml, this caffeinated brew of Spanish pedigree is dainty but potent.
When the first overseas outlet of Coffeed opened in Seoul’s Cheongdam-dong this January, however, cortados were nowhere to be seen. Coffeed Korea’s head Steve Goh added it to the menu last month.
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| Coffeed’s cortado (front) — two shots of espresso topped with “less than a centimeter of steamed milk” — pairs well with the cafe’s madeleines (back) (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald) |
Goh explained how the relative scarcity of cortados in Seoul and his belief that customers would take to the brew prompted him to add it to the lineup.
At Coffeed Seoul, the cortado is half espresso and half steamed milk.
“There is less than 1 centimeter of milk foam in a cortado,” Goh, 39, said.
Coffeed’s cortado reads buttery, rich and slightly salty. Superfine microfoam completes a drink that is at once creamy, ever so slightly bouffant and still maintains that dark, bitter, rich flavor characteristic of well-extracted espresso.
When paired with Coffeed’s madeleines, the flavor profile of the cortado morphs again, taking on a deeper, more buttery and rounder personality.
Goh personally likes to sip at his coffee with something on the side, and the madeleines, which were also recently added to the menu less than a month ago, are the perfect companion to Coffeed’s sumptuous cortados.
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| Coffeed’s first overseas store opened in Seoul’s Cheongdam-dong in January. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald) |
“Cortados are good for drinking with something,” said Goh.
Slightly spongy, slightly buttery and popping with a hint of citrus, Coffeed’s fluffy macarons are also good on their own, as is the moist banana bread on the menu.
As for the brews, there are “black,” milk-free coffee-based drinks crafted from acidic Panama Lerida El Bambu beans, a move that Goh and team made because “it has balance.”
There are also “white” coffee-based drinks featuring milk like the flat white, the espresso-and-microfoam brew prevalent in Australia and New Zealand.
Milkier, creamier and softer than the cortado, Coffeed’s flat white derives its charm from the contrast of potent espresso with ethereal microfoam.
Pour-over single origin coffee is also on the menu, including the highly prized Geisha varietal.
Like Coffeed in New York, Goh revealed that Coffeed’s South Korean outpost will be donating a portion of its revenue to charity.
Future plans are to add cold-brewed coffee to the menu along with a Brooklyn-based brewery’s craft beer.
By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)
