The Ubiquitous Red Bean

I've decided that red beans are to Korea what whipped cream is to the United States. When I think of red beans I think of dinner. When Koreans think of red beans they think of dessert. They are found everywhere from doughnut/pastry fillings, to ice cream toppings, to even the topping of Starbucks frappacinos. I suppose it makes sense that whipped cream wouldn't be the go-to dessert topper because  South Korea that doesn't have much land to spare to raise and feed cows, but replacing it with red beans was a bit of a culture shock to me.

Back in 2009 I became accustomed to seeing a red bean paste as a filling of desserts, and even enjoyed a few of them myself. However, walking into a Starbucks in Korea last month and seeing that red beans and moved to a new category and became the topping of the frappacinos led me to be torn between "oh my gosh that is too weird!" and "oh my gosh I have to try that!"  After weeks of looking at it and not getting up the nerve to try the combination, I finally took the leap as I was at the airport getting ready to fly back to the States. Granted, the fact that I was coming down with a cold and a frappacino, with or without red beans, sounded like just the thing to help sooth my throat may have played a part in helping me along.

Would you like some fiber with your coffee?

The overall taste wasn't too bad, but it was a bit strange sucking up a bean through the straw and mixing the bean texture and taste with the coffee frappacino taste. I'm glad I tried it, but I think I will stick to whipped cream from now on.