Instant coffee, or soluble coffee powder with sugar and creamer, is the most popular Korean beverage among foreign visitors, a survey found.

More than 50 percent of the surveyed (491 travelers out of 926) who visited here between September and October said the Korean instant coffee mix was their favorite when asked to pick the top Korean beverage that they enjoyed while staying, according to a local travel agency, Cosmos Jin on Monday. 



The most common reasons for the affection was convenience, the survey found. Travelers said the easy-open coffee sticks are convenient to carry while traveling, cheap, and most importantly, taste as rich as expensive cold brew coffee at a shop, it added.

The No. 2 spot went to Sikhye, Korea’s traditional sweet rice beverage, with 26 percent, followed by Maesil-cha, green plum tea, and Yulmu-cha, literally “Job’s tears tea,” which both received 11 percent.

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)