Caffe Artigiano is a Vancouver based chain started by multiple award winning barista champion, Sammy Piccolo. Since then he’s sold the business and shifted focus to his 49th Parallel coffee roastery. I’ve never had the chance to try their Canadian shops, which are certainly worth visiting, but I have been to their two locations here in Korea.
UPDATE: Check out JT’s comment below for a correction and a more detailed summary of Artigiano’s origin as well as the founders’ current projects.
UPDATE 2: As of April 2010, I think their espresso is back on track. Visited their Gwanghwamun shop and had a nice tasting double.
UPDATE 3: It looks like the tiny Gwanghwamun shop has been closed, leaving only the Gosok Terminal location.
Their Gosok Terminal cafe had one of the first good espressso shots I found in Seoul back in 2008. They were using Intelligentsia beans around that time, and the walls were decorated with hundreds of empty Intelli bags. Unfortunately, due to the construction of subway line 9, their nicely appointed, spacious location was moved to a hallway corner just outside the Shinsegae foodcourt that houses Paul Basset’s cafe.
I’ve been to Caffe Artigiano at Gosok Terminal a number of times since they changed locations and noticed that their espresso quality has suffered quite a bit; it’s not as consistent as before, though I have had a couple of good shots amidst the bad ones. I’d still give them a go if you’re curious, or if Paul Basset’s cafe just around the corner is too crowded. Maybe they’re just in the process of training new staff or something. Given their reputation and past performance I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Caffe Artigiano also has a little booth near Gwanghwamun. This spot is just big enough for a 4 group espresso machine and a La Marzocco Swift automatic grinder/doser/tamper, which I believe they’re also using at the larger store. Hopefully they’ll invest in training their staff or hiring qualified baristas rather than relying on equipment. If I were to speculate, I’d guess that given the originally good espresso, maybe they just haven’t kept things well calibrated.
If you do visit one of their shops, let me know how your experience was. I’ll happily amend this post if things improve.
Directions Below.
Gosok Terminal:
I always get lost here, but if you get yourself into the Shinsegae B1 level food court, it’s in one of the hallways just outside. It’s got a lot of curtains, look for that.
Gwanghwamun:
Exit 7 from Gwanghwamun station and head East. (If I recall, that means you need to turn around when you exit, and then make a right). Walk for 5 minutes, past a Twosome Place, and it’ll be on your right – it’s tiny and easy to walk past, so keep your eyes open.
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5 comments
Steven says:
Feb 21, 2010
Perrier with coffee!
JT says:
Feb 26, 2010
Great site! I used to be the GM of one of the Vancouver locations. I have been to the one in Seoul and your comments are correct about the consistency of their espresso. As for the origins of Artigiano, it was actually started by the 3 brothers Sammy, Vince, and Mike. Vince and Mike went on to form 49th parallel while Sammy stayed with Artigiano to help train and run the Burnaby location that opened in 2008. He later stepped down to focus on competition and then left Artigiano at the end of 2009. These days he is mostly consulting and doing a bit of training.
Vince and Mike are still running 49th with Mike being in charge of roasting. In Vancouver, Vince is a legend among baristas and his palette is something to be feared. They also ship a lot of espresso to the Seoul location, according to them, but I didn’t see any evidence of that in the Seoul location. Then again, from what Sammy told me, the Seoul location runs pretty much on their own without contact from Vancouver. Fact is that I am not even sure the current owner of Caffe Artigiano, Willie Mounzer has any interest in the Seoul store at all.
At any rate, I am happy to have found this blog! Great work and I really enjoy reading it!
admin says:
Feb 28, 2010
Thanks for the correction and detail, their website makes it sound as if Sammy Piccolo was the only one involved. I added an update to the post.
Glad you like the blog & hope you’ll keep reading!
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