Hotels launch coffee brands, events, for coffee lovers

Grand Hyatt Seoul’s Aroma 322 Courtesy of Grand Hyatt Seoul

By Kim Se-jeong

Most recently, in March, Grand Hyatt Seoul launched its own coffee brand Aroma 322, named after its street address.

The brand has three types of coffee bean blends ― green gold and black ― blended by the hotel’s three trained baristas themselves. The blends are served at the hotel and are available for individual sale.

Green is a blend of beans from Colombia, Guatemala and India and is ideal for serving at weddings and conferences, while gold is a blend of Ethiopian, Colombia and Guatemalan beans and is served at Paris Grill, one of the hotel’s restaurants. Black, which is a blend of Colombian, Indonesian and Tanzanian beans, has the strongest flavor of all.

“Developing the Grand Hyatt coffee flavor was a challenging journey for us, but I am pleased to do it. I hope more people will come to Hyatt to drink coffee,” said Kim Bong-seok, one of the baristas. Beans are also available for individual sale.

The Westin Chosun Seoul also roasts its own coffee beans and is the first hotel to launch its own coffee brand in 2015. VIVENTE No. 8, which was launched as part of the hotel’s 100th anniversary celebration, is a blend of beans from Ethiopia, Jamaica, Indonesia, Brazil and Colombia.

The blend is served all of the hotel’s restaurants and is available for individual sale.

The Westin Chosun is not a stranger to the coffee business. For one, it’s own by Shinsegye, the manager of Starbucks Coffee in Korea.

The hotel also imports its specialty coffee, which is loved by many of the hotel guests. According to the hotel, its imported beans are among the top 7 percent in the world in terms of quality.

Meanwhile, Novotel Ambassador Doksan will hold a coffee tasting event in May, with the help of its professional baristas. The hotel’s president Song Yeon-soon, a certified barista himself, will brew coffee for guests for one hour during the weekdays at the hotel’s lounge coffee shop, Phoenix. A cup of hand drip coffee will cost 15,000 won and 20,000 won with a piece of cupcake.