[WHY] How Korean coffee mixes became an everyday staple

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Published: 12 Nov. 2022, 07:01

[WHY] How Korean coffee mixes became an everyday staple

Ji-an makes a cup of instant coffee in a scene from “My Mister” (2021) [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Two miners survived for nine days in a collapsed zinc mine in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang, with 30 packs of instant coffee mix as their only source of food.

Although some may wonder why they were carrying packs of instant coffee mix in the first place, in Korea, the pockets of miners aren’t the only obscure place you can find the drink mixes.

The iconic yellow packs of Maxim instant coffee, made by Dong Suh Foods, can be easily spotted in any environment that requires strenuous work — a company’s office kitchenette, busy construction sites or even in bags of hikers.

The easy-made coffee has been a handy energy booster for Koreans since 1976, when Dong Suh Foods first invented its individually packaged instant coffee mixes.

Instant coffee mixes have been loved by Koreans for decades, but how and why did it become the essential item that it is today for busy workers?

Q. Why did the miners have so many instant coffee packs in the first place?

Park Jung-ha, one of the two miners trapped in a zinc mine for 221 hours after it collapsed, drinks instant coffee, which helped him survive while waiting in the mine for nine days. [YONHAP]

A. In Korea, the packs of instant coffee mix are considered a must for any outdoor activities or manual labor requiring hard work.

Although people can turn to various drinks when taking a break from strenuous work, such as black coffee or energy drinks, the instant coffee mixes have the upper hand when it comes to their convenience and the additional sugar rush.

“We first made the instant coffee mixes in individual packs to target customers who wanted to drink coffee in a fast and convenient way,” said Lee Joo-soon, a spokesperson for Dong Suh Foods. “Because its easy to make a cup, a lot of people engaging in outdoor activities or physical labor tend to enjoy our products, with many quickly making a cup of coffee when they take a rest or want an instant energy boost.”

A pack of Maxim Coffee Mix comes ready with sugar and freeze-dried coffee and creamer, with people only required to tear off the top tab of the coffee mix pack and pour it into a cup of hot water. Many prefer the quick process over having to reach into different jars of coffee, sugar and cream to manually make themselves a similar cup of coffee.

The sugar and fat contained in the coffee mixes are also a quick energy booster, especially nice for people working physically exhausting jobs.

“They also like it because its a nice way to finish off their meal, and it gets them ready for the remaining things they have to do, with farmers in Korea back in the 1980s always having a cup of instant coffee after their lunch and before getting back to work.”

A 12-gram pack of the Maxim Mocha Gold Mild Coffee Mix is 50 calories, containing 9 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of which are sugar, and 1.6 grams of fat.

“Creamers in the coffee mixes are made from palm oil,” said Kim Ji-eun, a doctor at Songdam Seongmo Hospital. “Saturated fats in palm and coconut oil are fatty acids that are easily absorbed by the body and can be quickly converted into energy.”

In what other environments do people enjoy the instant coffee mixes?

An employee displays Maxim instant coffee mixes in a discount mart in Seoul. [YONHAP]

A company’s kitchenette is another place in which the packs of instant coffee can almost always be found, with the sweet and caffeinated drink powering employees up for a hard day at work.

The mixes are often featured in Korean dramas as well. Actors in “Misaeng” (2014), a television drama revolving around a story of office workers, frequently appeared on screen holding cups of the instant coffee. “My Mister” (2018) also shows actor Lee Ji-eun, also known as singer IU, making a cup of instant coffee after a hard day at work. Actor Song Joong-ki is shown drinking a cup of instant coffee in “Vincenzo” (2021), showing him being fascinated by the taste after trying it for the first time has he plays the role of a Korean adopted into an Italian family at a young age.

“At work, I’m usually in charge of stocking our team’s kitchenette with snacks since I’m the youngest in our team, and instant coffee mix is something I always include,” said Kim Hye-na, a 27-year-old office worker in Seoul. “Its just a very traditional company staple, and people always make themselves a cup of coffee after they have lunch or when they are taking a quick break while working.”

The coffee mixes are also loved by busy merchants running stores in traditional markets. Bringing in products to sell at dawn and starting their day early, the merchants often stop for a quick cup of coffee, made with none other than the instant coffee mixes.

Various food stalls open every day at Dongmyo Flea Market, a traditional market selling vintage clothes and more in Jung District, central Seoul. Although they all sell snacks such as eomuk (fish cakes) or sandwiches, all stalls have one thing in common on their menus: hot and iced coffee, but made from instant coffee mix.

A hot cup is sold for around 500 won a cup, while an ice coffee is sold for 1,000 won. Some stalls just sell packs of Maxim coffee mixes, with customers whipping up their own cup of coffee by pouring themselves a cup of piping hot water and adding the mix.

A food stall at Dongmyo Flea Market sells instant coffee mixes for 500 won a cup, with customers making their own cup of coffee. [LEE TAE-HEE]

“There are a lot of merchants selling clothes in the market that regularly come here for cups of coffee,” said Cheon Yeong-eun, who runs a food stall in the market. “The market is a busy place, and they come to quickly grab a cup of coffee, get their day started and go forth with their work.”

If its really that popular, then how big is the instant coffee market in Korea?

Although instant coffee is a Korean staple, the market is slowly shrinking due to new and trendy coffee franchises and the preference for simple black coffee. Korea’s instant coffee market was valued at 787.9 billion won as of 2020, down 11.8 percent on year.

Despite the fall, Dong Suh Foods is still a clear frontrunner in the market.

In 2021, the company held 89 percent of the market, with other companies such as Namyang Dairies only having 7.2 percent and Lotte-Nestle Korea having 3.4 percent.

Are instant coffee mixes only a thing among Koreans?

Although probably not as universally loved as a simple cup of black coffee, foreigners are also catching on to the trend.

Korea’s exports of instant coffee with food additives — meaning coffee mixes with sugar and creamers — in 2021 rose 13 percent on year to $320.8 million, according to Korea Agricultural Trade Information.

A YouTube video made by YouTuber Korean Englishman shows foreigners trying Korean instant coffee mixes. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Indonesia was Korea’s biggest market, importing coffee mixes worth $50.3 million, followed by China, Russia, Israel and Taiwan.

Despite the growing popularity, Dong Suh Foods doesn’t export any of its Maxim coffee mixes abroad.

The company is a joint venture between Dong Suh Corporation and Mondelez International, and the business contract only allows Dong Suh Foods to sell Maxim-branded products in Korea, to prevent its products from competing with Mondelez International’s coffee brands.

Maxim coffee mixes are sold on global e-commerce websites such as Amazon and at Korean supermarkets abroad, but Dong Suh Foods said those aren’t officially exported by the company: They are mostly individual sellers directly buying them from Korea and selling them online or overseas.

“My mom loved the Maxim instant coffee mixes, and she would always bring back a huge box every time she visited Korea and came back to China,” said Park Yoo-min, a 28-year-old who lived in China with her family in the mid-2010s. “You can only find them at Korean supermarkets, but at a way more expensive price, and I’ve found that just buying instant coffee and manually adding sugar and creamers just doesn’t taste the same as those instant coffee mixes.”

One way the company has been enjoying the growing popularity of instant coffee mixes is by exporting Frima, its powdered creamer.

Not under the Maxim brand, Frima has been exported since 1982, now selling in over 20 countries.

“The product is especially loved in Central and Southeast Asia,” said Lee from Dong Suh Foods. “In Russia and Kazakhstan, a lot of individual customers buy our product to use when baking bread, and in Southeast Asia it's used as an ingredient in many drinks such as coffee and milk tea.”

If Maxim coffee mixes can’t be exported, then are other companies trying to sell their own versions abroad?

An Ediya factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, which makes the company’s instant coffee mixes [EDIYA]

With Dong Suh Foods claiming a huge portion of the local instant coffee mix market, there aren’t that many other players.

However, cafe franchise Ediya started exporting their instant coffee mix to the United States in April last year. The company has two instant coffee mixes — the Ediya Special Gold Blend and Ediya Special Gold Blend Rich Crema — which also have sugar and freeze-dried coffee and creamers in each pack.

Planning to up production, the company opened an instant coffee factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, in 2020, and started exporting to China in January and to Australia and New Zealand in August.

Although the company doesn’t report overseas sales figures specifically for its instant coffee mixes, it said its overall overseas sales rose 22 percent on year in the first half with the help of the products.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]

korea joongAng daily

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[WHY] How Korean coffee mixes became an everyday staple

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