Autumn has always been a wonderful time to enjoy the nature of Korea. The maple trees turn colors, the air is fresh and clear, and the temperature is in a wonderfully comfortable band of not too cold and not too hot.
A recent autumn weekend found us along the Mugeo Stream in Ulsan, enjoying some nice coffee from small location, Shark Coffee.
The stream is one that has been developed over the past years. Decades ago in Ulsan many local areas were quite natural, but this made it a challenge to work with as more and more construction has gone on. As the natural areas have disappeared, the city government has spent time and money developing little park areas such as the walking paths alongside Mugeo Stream.
It was very peaceful, and the development is quite nice. There was even a family of ducks swimming in the stream.
Of course the reason we were walking alongside the stream was the visit to Shark Coffee.
Shark Coffee is a little shop on the corner of a building, with only 2 small stools and just enough space for the barista to do their work.
As we entered, the warm, enticing smell of coffee was present, and as we looked at the menu it was hard to decide what to choose.
After some hard thinking, we settled on a Hazelnut Latte and a Coconut Butter Latte.
As the barista cleaned out the previous espresso shots and got to work on our order, I took a quick look around the little shop.
It was decorated quite nicely, if simply, with many Shark Coffee images and symbols everywhere.
Finally the lattes were ready, and after lifting the lids on the takeout cups, which is the only way coffee is served in Shark Coffee, I noticed that there was heart latte art on both drinks.
As we left and moved to the Mugeo Stream, we tried the lattes to find out how they tasted.
The Hazelnut Latte was quite different from a lot of the instant hazelnut coffee that you get in Korea. The packaged ones are usually quite sweet, and have an overpowering hazelnut odor.
The Shark Coffee Hazelnut latte had a much stronger coffee flavor. The beans definitely tasted like a dark roast, as there was a nice level of bitterness and acidity to the coffee. The hazelnut flavor was more subdued, and the amount of milk was just right so as to not overpower the hazelnut and coffee flavors.
The Coconut Butter Latte, on the other hand, was quite rich. There was very little coffee flavor to it, and the taste of coconut was quite evident. I believe they might have added real butter to the drink, as there was a very creamy taste to it, although there might have been coconut oil that created that sensation.
Shark Coffee has a wide range of items on its menu, and the two drinks we had were both good, if quite different from one another. If you need a quick cup of coffee and you are in the Mugeo-dong area of Ulsan, you can pick up a nice cup from Shark Coffee.
