5 beverages only available at Korean convenience stores

[waves-of-light.livejournal.com]

Convenience stores have a special appeal, especially in Korea. As you step inside one of those clean, bright stores that stay open 24/7, hottest K-pop and the cashier’s apathetic greeting welcome you.

Convenience stores may not offer the best deal, but they make sure that the shelves are up to date all the time. No matter which part of the country you visit, convenience stores will offer the newest food trend of Korea on sight.

It is a recent trend among large scale convenience store chains in Korea, such as GS25, CU, and 7-Eleven, to produce private label products. In this 5 Items Available Only at Korean Convenience Stores series, we will explore some of the trendiest items available only at Korean convenience stores.


1. Minions Flavored Milk (2,000 KRW = $1.76)


People always associate Minions with bananas, but this flavored milk denies the popular perception. Available in three different flavors, these cute bottled milks are now sweeping the peninsula. Two of the expectable flavors are chocolate and coffee (coffee is the most popular flavor for milk in Korea) and the least expected one is… the corn. If you ask me if it is common to see a “Corn Milk” in Korea, I can answer with confidence that it’s so rare that I can’t even imagine the taste of it.


2. Sweet Potato Milk (1,200 KRW = $1.05)


Following the Corn Milk, here is another curious milk mash-up – Sweet Potato Milk. This flavored milk is available at 7-Eleven stores in Korea. Reactions are mostly positive, except for the common complaint about its high calories.


3. Watermelon Soda and Banana Soda (1,000 KRW = $0.88)


Soda and fruits are good companions, but have you seen a watermelon soda? How about a banana soda? These carbonated drinks infused with real fruit juice have very divisive reviews, but I definitely want to give a try! …Well, let me give the banana one a second thought.


4. Honey Vin Chaud (1,900 KRW = $1.67)


In Korean convenience stores, drinks are stored in two different shelves – refrigerated shelf and a small heating cabinet. Heating cabinets store jarred drinks that taste better when served warm, like honey tea. Honey Vin Chaud is a new resident to the heating cabinet. The non-alcohol wine drink is released right on time for the colder seasons to help customers stay warm!


5. Cafe Latte Mint (1,200 KRW = $1.05)


Any fan of mint chocolate chip ice cream? You will probably love this coffee drink! Cafe Latte Mint is a mint-flavored coffee that tastes just like melted mint chocolate chip ice cream, with a hint of coffee added.


Have you ever come across these drinks at your local market, Omona? I've seen #5 before, but I haven't tried it because my lactose intolerant ass only takes black coffee.

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Comments

[ironicmustache.livejournal.com]

i've had the mint choco milk and it was kinda gross.

this isn't strictly convenience store sold, but i think it's only in korea ... it's like raisin water?? i can't remember the name right now and i'm dying to see if it's available on amazon cause i miss it so much. it has a green label/lid and there's a picture of a branch with little berries on it if anyone knows what i'm talking about.

[ironicmustache.livejournal.com]

yes!!!! thank you!

i was seriously drinking like 2 liters every day/two days at one point lmao. when i moved back from korea i tried to find it at the korean mart near my house, but they didn't have it :(
i don't see it bottled on amazon, only the tea bags ... i hope it tastes the same ...

[ironicmustache.livejournal.com]

yeah i had thought about getting it on there when i first came back to the states, but i know their international shipping isn't very cheap so i figured getting a case of water would have outrageous shipping charges haha

i'll reinvestigate tho

[mattemate.livejournal.com]

Mint chocolate milk sounds amazing. These drinks are all really reasonably priced? Where i live unless you get off brand water drinks are around 3 dollars

[shinychopstick.livejournal.com]

When I was working in Korea I would always go to the convenience store during my breaks to try out the drinks. lol it got me through my long days.

I've only had #5 from this list since I really liked the brand's packaging.

I also really liked the bubble tea cups in the fridge section! The boba wasn't bad for being pre-packaged. Also thought it was funny how some of the drinks at the convenience store came in pouches and that they'd give you a cup of ice when you pay.

[annayism.livejournal.com]

aw i wish i had seen this while i was in korea so i could have tried out some of these
the chocolate minion milk and watermelon soda sound delicious

[mjspice.livejournal.com]

DAW! The minion drink looks so cute!

I believe I've tried the banana soda. It was ok.

[dorawa.livejournal.com]

I don't have any of these in my small ass town lmao

[au9042.livejournal.com]

I don't have these in all my country (90% sure) lmaoo

[lilipute.livejournal.com]

I've had watermelon soda before and I love it. Def one of my fave soda flavors
and that corn milk sounds interesting, but I doubt I'll ever see it here in the US

[lucyownsjoaquin.livejournal.com]

i always wanted to try banana milk

[silentsiren11.livejournal.com]

when they scan the barcode for the minion milk, there's a special screen that plays on the register display. it's super cute.

[psharp10.livejournal.com]

kinda wanna try the watermelon soda tbh

[pseudo-shigure.livejournal.com]

What! I want the minion one! But not the corn flavor i guess

[hyunbiased.livejournal.com]

I wanna try the sweet potato milk!! I love everything sweet potato though

I haven't had the cafe latte mint but that brand's royal milk tea is probably my favourite flavoured milk

My other fave is the black soy milk from the heating cabinets! It's soooo nice when the weather gets cooler

[juhli.livejournal.com]

the sweet potato pizza in korea was a revelation.

[iskerplunk.livejournal.com]

not a drink, but gdi i am obsessed with honey butter chips so thank u for fucking with my wallet korea bc they are so expensive in canada!!! why do those things have to be so good?? i first tried it in taiwan at a 7-11 (sob take me back!!!) along with seaweed-flavoured chips. can't believe i haven't tried those before.

[meeeeeeshell.livejournal.com]

in taiwan at a 7-11 (sob take me back!!!)

I totally get what you mean. The 7-Elevens in Taiwan are like paradise; I really miss their huge tea/coffee selection. Taiwanese canned/cartoned beverages are just really tasty in general, imo.

[iskerplunk.livejournal.com]

lol it's seriously such an upgrade from canadian 7-11s. and they're EVERYWHERE, i love it. i'm considering moving to taiwan just for the food, everything is so cheap compared to vancouver.

[dreamerbri.livejournal.com]

i want to try the watermelon soda and sweet potato milk the most out of this list. i tried banana milk earlier this year but didn't like it.

[sjtaazrz.livejournal.com]

I'm not really one for milk or soda, but that honey one sounds interesting.
Aside from coffee or maybe hot chocolate, I can't think of many warm drinks to pick up on the go, that heated shelf of stuff seems pretty nice.

[meyouthisthat.livejournal.com]

Most of the drinks sound like it's gonna be super sweet and I'm not interested in trying them lol.

I should have paid more attention to the heating cabinet drink section! Sounds like they have really nice stuff to keep u warm on cold days

Also, korea has some of the most amazing chilled bottled/packet coffee ever. Such a great variety to choose from as well. I never ever drink such coffees back home but I tried one called Flannel Drip Latte by Barista and it was really yummy. Love the packaging too.

[meeeeeeshell.livejournal.com]

Where I live, Korean grocery stores are easily accessible so I feel kind of spoilt compared to some of you here. It's been a while since I last visited one, though, so I don't think I've seen any of those drinks on the shelves.

I absolutely hate plain milk but am generally fond of (most) flavoured milk, especially banana. And I absolutely looooove Binggrae banana milk; I've tried other brands but I feel like none of them are as tasty as Binggrae. Ugh, I feel like having some now. So yeah, since I usually enjoy flavoured milk, I wouldn't mind giving the uncommon flavours a try if I see them. The sweet potato one sounds particularly delicious, but then I love anything sweet potato related. I want to say the mint latte one sounds divine, but someone mentioned it tasted gross so lmao now I'm not so sure anymore.

I also occasionally buy other Korean beverages whenever I feel like it i.e. Chilsung cider, random canned coffee/tea, and shikhye (sweet rice drink), but the one drink that stands out to me is still Binggrae banana milk, hands down.

Moving away from beverages, a fair amount of Korean snacks, I feel, are clearly inspired versions of Japanese snacks, and I feel like a lot of their candy/chocolate isn't all that great, especially when compared to what you can find in Japanese supermarkets. But hey, they're more affordable! And I really like Korean potato chips (the 100% potato kind, not the Pringles-esque ones like Yegam baked chips).

Oh, and I love Korean instant ramyun, cos a lot of them tend to have a spicy and robust broth, just the way I like my instant noodles. Has anyone tried the Samyang spicy chicken flavoured ramyun? It's (in)famous for being extremely spicy; at almost 600 calories per packet it's definitely not something I'd want to be eating too often but gosh, I am in love with it lmao. I usually eat the noodles with some diced chicken and a huge amount of kimchi.

[kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com]

I didn't see any of these when I was in KR except for the watermelon soda. I did fall in love with banana milk though. I also really liked the grape vitamin C water, mangosteen soda, peach coconut jelly drink and probiotic drink (the one in the white bottle with the lady on it lol.) There are a lot of Korean/Asian grocery stores near where I live so I can still get a fair amount of snacks but I miss Korean convenience stores ;_;

[meriumi.livejournal.com]

As someone who on a normal day tends to keep their ingested liquids at 0 kcals (i.e. drink mostly water and tea/herbal infusions) I can't really say I would have come across or be interested in trying any of these.

Normal vin chaud can really be a hit or a miss in my books depending on who makes it/what wine/mix of ingredients it contains, but I guess a serially produced, alcohol free version is certified to be sweet enough to be enjoyed by most. And I suppose that last one also tastes a bit like a cold version of mint flavored hot chocolate.

Winter really seems to be coming, as all I'm getting from this is alcohol free versions of winter drinks...

[jeliza]

Why won't the minions go away?

Watermelon soda sounds really good right now. Though I think the Mexican restaurant up the road from me has watermelon agua fresca right now, which is probably even better than soda.

[angela-derp-otp.livejournal.com]

omg I have been craving for weeks Guguma latte :(

[sodapab.livejournal.com]

Minions are not even cute.
I'd like to try those sodas and cafe latte mint coffee! they sound delicious

[lightframes.livejournal.com]

I used to loooove banana milk when I was a little kid. But corn milk???

I hate watermelons generally but I'd try banana soda.

The cafe latte mint sounds really good.

[cedric-mcfly.livejournal.com]

I'd really like to try the Banana Soda and the Cafe Latte Mint!

Here in Greece we have something similar to the watermelon soda, Fanta Watermelon and Fanta Apple Cherry. I love them both, but i'm always up for trying new stuff.

[kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com]

Fanta apple cherry sounds really good tbh

We have mango fanta here but i still haven't tried it yet

[cedric-mcfly.livejournal.com]

Oh my i'd love to try mango fanta, mango in general is one of my favourites!

Yeah, both the watermelon and apple cherry ones are great, esp in the summer!

[goldendeity.livejournal.com]

I wish we had stores like this in my area. I'm close to a lot of gas stations/convenience stores, but they don't have the selection of Korean convenience stores.