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c Opinion

Considering the size of South Korea and its coffee market, Kangbin’s achievement
as a barista as well as running an independent coffee shop is phenomenon. By the end
of 2015, there were already 49,600 coffee shops, both chain and independent, in South
Korea; with a per capital coffee consumption of 2.3kg per person, according to the In-
ternational Coffee Organization. It was in such a fierce competitive environment that
Kangbin rose to the top, and he didn’t stop there, he stretched out in the wider world.
Both of Kangbin’s cream art and his appearance are visual, which means that they
can spread as their original form. The human nature of appreciating beauty makes it
almost boundary free for the mass audience to accept thus follow him as an idol, as a
barista. That’s why on Instagram Kangbin has got 216k followers, while James Hoffmann
24k and Scott Rao 7.5k. Even though the number on Instagram does not mean everything,
it is undeniable of being an important dimension to measure the business value of a
public figure. Even though latte art is not, and should not be, the only way to introduce
specialty coffee to the crowd, it is undeniable of being a positive starting point.

Why it Matters

The latest figure from the International Coffee driven feature of the industry means the customers will
Organization shows that by November 2017 there was need to have direct contact with the product to under-
an increase for the trade of Arabica while Robusta has stand it. For many specialty coffee unaware people, it
fallen slightly in the past 12 months. The global con- will need something more neutral to bridge their daily
sumption of coffee has kept its steady growth since life with this new term. Things like latte art will be one
2012. By September 2016, there was in total 151.3 way to attract people coming over and experiencing the
million 60kg bags of coffee consumed globally in 12 direct contact with specialty coffee.
months. The rise of the overall market size together Therefore, if a barista managed to grow into an idol
with the rise of Arabica coffee trade to some extend barista, the amount of profit generated from loyal fans
represents the still growing specialty coffee sub- would be beyond imagination; furthermore, the influ-
market. It is under this macro circumstance that we ence a real idol barista could have in terms of the pro-
strive to find ways of going forward. motion of the whole specialty coffee industry would
From the industry’s perspective, how to effec- also be something unimaginable. As a result, it might
tively introduce specialty coffee to the public has al- be time for people in the specialty coffee industry to
ways been a primary concern. However, the taste seriously consider a possible future with idol baristas.

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