Korean culture and croffles at Haan Coffee in Orlando.
Soft jazz music greeted me when I walked into Haan Coffee. I took a short cut from my parking space and arrived through the back door, where the walls were decorated with a collage of woven textiles. Just as I reached out to feel the fabric, I caught myself in time as I read the sign that said, “please do not touch the artwork.” This is not the place to bring a curious toddler, I thought, noting the opposite wall was lined with delicate pottery vases.
Elegant touches, like circular wood-framed windows and a trio of white lanterns hanging from the ceiling, give Haan a sophisticated Asian vibe. This relaxing Korean-inspired coffee house is a tranquil oasis from the busy thoroughfare of Colonial Drive that runs in front of the store. It’s a calming, grown up space, with just about every blond wood table being occupied by a coffee-drinking laptop user.
I made my way to the front, passing a series of colorful geometric prints lining the narrow room. Haan feels so chic that you might mistakenly think you’d stepped inside a gallery rather than one of Orlando’s newest, most talked about coffee bars.
The menu has traditional espresso drinks, as well as a few pour-over coffee choices. The menu describes the flavor profile of each; Ethiopia has notes of blackberry, jasmine, and wild berry jam. Nicaragua is described as having mandarin, apricot, and cocoa. I’m not sure my palate is sophisticated enough to discern such subtle nuances. Besides, I was intrigued by the Korean drinks on the menu. There’s the Seoul Iced Coffee, strong, creamy, and sweet, and the SJ Iced Latte described as a twist on a traditional Korean beverage – sweet with mild cinnamon spice. The drink that I was most curious about and decided to try was not a coffee drink at all, but a latte made with roasted black sesame cream and whole milk. The strong nutty flavor was sweet and savory, with a hint of salt on the finish. It’s a great coffee alternative if you’re trying to kick the caffeine but still want to be part of the latte-drinking crowd.
The matcha drinks are popular at Haan also, with the menu noting that they use “ceremonial grade matcha”, which has a deeper, more vibrant color and flavor. You’ll find it in their signature Strawberry Matcha Latte, with pleasing layers of red and green floating above the milk. You can also enjoy matcha as a tea, without milk. The seasonal menu includes a Korean Mango Milk drink, and several packaged Asian drinks are available from the cooler. It was fun to browse through the cans of sparkling plum drink, Pocari sweat, (a Japanese sports drink), and a low-calorie Korean orange drink.
Have you ever heard of a croffle? Neither had I until they beckoned to me from the display on the counter. Basically, it’s a cross between a croissant and a waffle, with a crispy exterior and soft, flaky inside. Croffles were made popular in South Korean coffee houses and come in various sweet and savory flavors. It sounded unusual, and it was fun to say, so I knew I had to try one. It was just the right companion to my Black Sesame Latte, and if I closed my eyes for a moment, I could pretend I was in a land far away. My morning outing gave my taste buds a quick trip to Asia at a much more palatable price than a plane ticket.
Haan Coffee is a natural fit for Orlando’s Mills 50, a neighborhood filled with Boba tea shops, Chinese restaurants, and Vietnamese bakeries. It adds another beautiful layer to the fabric of this diverse city.