405 Cups a Year.
The Deep Bond Between Koreans and Coffee

The annual coffee consumption per capita in Korea is approximately 405 cups. This figure, roughly four times the global average, tells the story of how deeply coffee is embedded into daily life in Korea.

Behind this lies the unique habit of "post-meal coffee." Because Korean cuisine is often rich in flavor, with strong notes of spice and sweetness, a culture of resetting the palate with a refreshing coffee after eating naturally took root. Stopping by a cafe after lunch is a completely normal routine for Korean professionals.

You may be familiar with the term "A-A" (아아) from Korean dramas. It is an abbreviation for "Iced Americano," used casually when ordering. The love Koreans have for Americanos is so real that it even spawned the slang term "Eol-Juk-A" (meaning, "I'll drink an iced Americano even if I freeze to death").

Korean Cafe Culture
Spreading in Tokyo

Korean cafe culture has now crossed the sea and begun to permeate Japan. Young Japanese people, exposed to the latest Korean cafe trends via social media, have made cafe-hopping a part of their trips to Korea and have started seeking that same experience in Tokyo.

Symbolic of this is the arrival of coffee chains from Korea in Japan. With their large-capacity, reasonably priced takeout coffee, carefully designed interiors, and "SNS-worthy" menus, a "new coffee experience" that didn't previously exist in Japan is arriving one after another.

The "Mammoth Coffee" Whirlwind
Hits Toranomon and Tokyo Station

In January 2025, the Korean coffee brand "Mammoth Coffee" opened its first Japanese location in Toranomon, Tokyo. Founded in Hongdae, Seoul, in 2012, it is a popular chain with approximately 900 locations across Korea.

Its most prominent feature is its "mammoth-class" size. The L size is a whopping 940ml—nearly a full liter—yet the iced Americano is priced at a surprising 400 yen. With a store layout specialized for takeout, it made headlines for selling up to 1,400 cups a day from a space of only about 43 square meters.

Incorporating the
"After-Meal Cup" into Tokyo Daily Life

In fact, there is one of these Mammoth Coffee locations near our KEMA office. The sight of staff leaving their seats after lunch saying, "I'm heading to Mammoth," has become a part of our daily routine before we knew it. Walking back to the office with a large cup in hand is just like a scene on a street corner in Seoul.

Korean and Japanese coffee cultures are actually quite contrasting. In Japan, the style of slowly savoring a single cup with delicate hand-drip brewing is well-established, whereas in Korea, the mainstream is quickly taking out an espresso-based Americano. If Japan's "kissaten" (coffee shop) culture is an "aesthetic of stillness," Korean cafe culture could be called "energy in motion."

However, these two cultures have recently started to blend in Tokyo. The style of offering large-capacity drinks using carefully selected beans, along with stylish, takeout-focused store designs, fits the lifestyle of busy Tokyo business professionals.

Like in Korea, reset your mood with a cup of coffee after lunch. Stop by your favorite cafe before heading to your afternoon work. Such a small habit might make your daily life just a little bit richer.