In Pursuit of Georgia Coffee

When the Local Kind Just Won’t Do

I teach English online to adult Koreans at the moment. Often when they ask me where I live, the answer “Savannah, Georgia in the United States” doesn’t immediately mean much to them. Similar to how “Jeonju in South Korea” doesn’t mean much to me. 

We expand outward. 

“It’s on the East Coast. Atlanta is our capital.” 

“Have you ever eaten bibimbap? The city is famous for it.” 

So on and so forth until our tone of voice communicates more so than anything else that we’ve finally got it. The world is vast, but somehow, I have found you. That’s the feeling. 

However, the other day, I was asked for the second time, “Georgia? Like the coffee?”

I don’t consider myself an expert on coffee or the state of Georgia, but I drink it almost every day and have lived in Georgia nearly my entire life. I had no idea what these students were talking about. “Uh, no? Maybe? Do you mean the country of Georgia?”