I moved from Korea to Sweden back in the summer of 2010, and that unfortunately marked the end of my coverage of Korea’s best cafes & roasters (and a few of its quirkiest). However, I get a lot of people asking for recommendations about where to visit in Korea. A number of interesting new cafes and roasters have opened in Seoul over the past couple years and I think it’s time for a post highlighting a few of the most noteworthy.

This was a real collaborative effort, with invaluable translation, research, long-distance phone calling, and photos by my girlfriend Claire Lee; more great photos and notes provided by my friend, former co-worker, and fellow coffee-geek, Jin Park; as well as photos by Tom from TomEatsJenCooks.com – whose current adventures in Seoul you should definitely be following! Thanks so much!

Republic of Coffee

This is one of the cafes I had most wanted to visit, but unfortunately I moved before it was opened, and it has since changed ownership. Republic of Coffee was the home of Korean Barista Champion Lee Jong Hoon, who also made it to 5th place in the 2009 World Barista Championship (competition video here). I really enjoyed meeting Jong Hoon, and his girlfriend & partner Mi-Kyeong, while I was in Korea. At the time they were roasting for wholesale on a tiny shop roaster and conducting trainings at their workshop, which you can see in several of my older posts (here and here). Their uncompromising dedication and attention to quality is really evident in their work; for instance, Jong Hoon used Cup of Excellence coffees (which undergo a rigorous national selection, competition, and auction) in his espresso blends. His roasted coffees were among the best I’ve had.

They’ve since moved on and Jong Hoon is now working with a specialty cafe & roaster, Cafe MOMOS in Busan, Korea’s second largest city on the southern coast. Apparently there’s quite a cafe scene and a new wave of coffee shops opening up there, taking advantage of the cheaper rents to invest more in better equipment, better green coffee, and larger spaces. Rest assured, next time I visit Korea I’ll be including a trip to Busan to enjoy the beaches, and check out the cafes :) Republic of Coffee is still open for business in Seoul, and the new owner has been trained by Jong Hoon, so it’s worth a visit if you’re near by — please let me know how it was in the comments!

(Photos from last year soon after they opened, taken by Claire Lee)

Coffee LEC

Formerly working with the Coffea Coffee chain, 2010 Korean Barista champion An Jae Hyeuk has opened his own cafe, called Coffee LEC (“Limited Edition Cafe”). Their first location was in Bundang, but they’ve since moved to the fashionable Garosugil strip in Sinsadong, Seoul. They’re roasting their coffee in-house with a Giesen roaster, and the “Limited Edition” concept is a reference to their standard coffee blend changing twice a year. They also have rotating single origins, and Jae Hyeok says you can ask the barista to use “specialty coffee” in your order if you want to try it as a single origin espresso or in a cappuccino. They also have signature drinks, blending espresso with other ingredients, that change quarterly. One of their specialty drinks is called a “black and white,” which is espresso, cold milk, and cream shaken together – you can see it in the pictures below.

Watch out for a new location opening in Hongdae soon!

Photos below by Jin Park – see more of her work here!

5 Extracts

Korea’s 2011 Barista Champion, Choi Hyun Sun, opened this roastery & cafe in the Hongdae neighborhood known for its indie music scene, cafes, restaurants, and night life. The cafe is housed in what used to be a private residence, and its eclectic interior is full of subdued wood tones and bright, colorful contrasting details. It looks like a perfect fit for the neighborhood with it’s Korean-hipster vibe, and seems like it would be one of my favorite spots if I was still living in Seoul.

The name 5 extracts refers to body, aroma, sweetness, acidity, and bitterness – elements that should be balanced in a good brew. Their coffee is roasted in house, using a 3 kilo Diedrich, and a variety of brew methods are available on their table menus – which are apparently iPads. The most eye catching piece of equipment is the siphon bar that gets so much press in the US (see any article about Blue Bottle). Aside from the standard fare, there is a constantly changing menu of specialty concoctions, inspired by the signature drinks made in barista championships – like orange and cream over espresso.

Photos below by Jin Park – see more of her work here!

 Coffee Sedona

Sedona is an off-shoot of the Caffe Artigiano franchise in Seoul, and deserves an honorable mention given that there aren’t many decent coffee options around COEX (Espressamente illy is passable). They use coffee from 49th Parallel and Intelligentsia (and from the looks of it, a bit of Stumptown too), world class roasters from the US and Canada, but because it’s shipped internationally, if the cafe isn’t on top of quality control it can be a bit old at times. When it’s fresh, it can be good, so you might want to try persuading the barista to whisper their shipping schedule and plan your visits accordingly. I hear they have a Canadian barista (champion? regional champion? competitor?) on staff with them as well. Also, I’m not sure why, but they seem to have four La Marzocco FB-80s in different colors. Maybe you can find out and post in the comments?

The easiest way to get to Sedona is to go to the Oakwood hotel, take the elevator to B2, and it’ll be next to ‘Bulgogi Brothers.’

Picture credit goes to Tom from TomEatsJenCooks.com – look to his site for more reviews from Korea, as soon as he gets tired of exploring alcoholism Korean drinking culture :) 

Coffee Libre & Cafe Wee

Coffee Libre is a roaster in Korea, located near Hongdae. They’ve been getting a lot of attention and good reviews lately, and Sang Ho Park from Tapped and Packed has been using their beans (and winning) in the UK Barista Championship regionals. Check out their website to order their coffee online, or stop by their roastery next time you’re in Hongdae to snag a fresh bag.

Coffee Libre doesn’t currently have their own cafe (one will be opening near Hongdae soon), but one place you can try their coffee now is Cafe Wee. In this case, with typical Korean charm, Wee stands for both “We enjoy espresso” and “We” as in building community. But Cafe Wee is more than your typical specialty cafe, apparently they go out of their way to provide jobs for immigrant women, many of whom come to Korea to work or marry and send money back home to their families. These jobs are a way to gain some independence and build opportunities, something that is very difficult for immigrants in Korea’s very homogenous and competitive society. The women started training for the job four months prior to opening, working on their language skills, and learning how to run a cafe and brew coffee. Cafe Wee operates with local government support, and all of their profit goes towards programs that provide assistance for these women and other disadvantaged multi-cultural families & their children.

Cafe Wee is located in Bundang, about an hour outside of Seoul, and their menu is very inexpensive, starting at 2500 won. I know a lot of English teachers live in Bundang and work at its many hagwons, so I hope at least a few of you will visit and post your experience in the comments below!

Pictures below by Jin Park – check out more of her work here!

I’ve updated my Seoul Coffee Guide with these new cafes, see below, or open in a new window for the full list!

View FRSHGRND – Guide to the Best Coffee in the World in a larger map

This is my girlfriend Claire’s debut post here – she’s also quite a coffee geek and still working in Korea for the next couple months. Look forward to a few more of her posts from Korea in the months ahead!

Several months ago, I moved in with some friends in Itaewon, a diverse neighborhood in the center of Seoul next to the largest US military base in Korea. It’s a quirky area that sometimes seems sketchy compared to the rest of Seoul, but also has the best selection of foreign restaurants in the city.

I was happy to have such nice roommates, and on top of that I found a great café near by! The cafe is called ChansBros, and if the name rings a bell, it should. If you recall, a while back we were impressed by a cafe called Chan’s Espresso Bar in Hongdae, where the owner had both a La Marzocco GS/3 AND a Synesso Cyncra, pulling shots of Intelligentsia and Tim Wendelboe’s coffee.

ChansBros, it turns out, is run by Chan’s brother!

ChansBros is now the only place you can taste Intelligentsia coffee in Korea, according to the owner. Chan’s Espresso Bar in Hongdae used to have it, but now he only serves Tim Wendelboe and his own blend.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to have Intelligentsia coffee on our visit because the coffee was still passing through customs. Instead of that, we had an espresso and cappuccino using Chan’s own blend, which is sourced from a roaster outside of Seoul.

The espresso was like a ristretto’d ristretto – but not as extreme as Paul Bassett’s minuscule ristretto. Small portion, strong flavor, with a thick texture. Which I enjoyed a lot!

Their blend is called Honey Drop Espresso, and I found it to be very bright, acidic and fruity. It reminded me of raspberry. It also had an almost salty, buttery taste. It goes nicely in their cappuccino, coming across with caramel sweetness.

Overall, ChansBros is a perfect neighborhood place to relax and have a nice chit chat on a lazy Saturday afternoon–which is exactly what I did with three of my girl friends :)

Directions:  Exit #2 from Noksapyeong Station, go straight and cross under the street, exit to the right side. You’ll see the cafe next to a motorcycle shop.

South Korea Seoul Yongsan-gu Itaewon-dong 561

A lot of coffee drinkers stumble upon Illy in their initial quests for better coffee. It’s hard to miss their shiny silver and red packaging in the supermarket or at the cafes serving their coffee.

Established in the 1930s, Illy is family owned and known for pursuing scientific coffee research, and creating standards for brewing espresso. However, Illy has a philosophy that differs greatly from today’s specialty coffee vanguard. Illy offers only one blend with two roast profiles, incorporating nine different coffees. Instead of seasonal offerings highlighting the nuanced and varied flavors of high quality single estates, Illy’s approach is to create flavor balance and complexity through blending. What does this mean in the cup?

It means you’ll find an espresso with no hard edges. It’s pleasant and inoffensive, running the range of expected coffee flavors. A little roasty, a hint of acidity, sweet, nutty, chocolatey. And a little stale tasting. There are no surprises. Sure, the nitro-flushed packaging model might not be all it’s hyped up to be, and there are many legitimate and perhaps more desirable philosophical approaches to creating great tasting coffee. But unless you’re some kind of scorched-earth espresso extremist I don’t see any reason to complain about this when, at the majority of cafes around the world, the only surprise you’ll find is how bad the coffee is.

I can’t comment on their applied research, and all I know is that their espresso tastes decent enough that my visits amounted to a couple loyalty cards redeemed for free coffees while I was living in Seoul. I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit an Illy cafe, though. The primary reason I racked up so many visits is their Jonggak cafe, located across the street from some of the better tasting burritos in town (Tomatillo). What’s better than a burrito followed by a coffee? A very small list of things.

Given the choice, I’d rather visit a cafe that will surprise me with an interesting coffee, but if I’m around an Espressamente Illy, I wouldn’t hesitate to drop in for an espresso or cappuccino. (But whatever you do, don’t order one of the mixed drinks on their huge menu – they’re terrible, unless drinking a Mugwort latte is your idea of a good time).

Espressamente Illy has a number of locations in Seoul. Unfortunately their corporate website doesn’t offer a list of shops, but I’ve added the three locations I know of to my Seoul coffee map: Garosugil, Jonggak, and COEX.

View FRSHGRND – Global Cafe Guide in a larger map

In Korea I tried a lot of cafes, and drank a lot of bad coffee on the way to finding the great cafes that I’ve written about here. Coffee is expensive (I’ve paid as much as $15 for a bad cup of coffee in Seoul), so after a while I started avoiding places with signs that the coffee might not be good. Here are those rules of thumb – but keep in mind that there are numerous exceptions and you sometimes just have to try a place and hope to be surprised!

1. If the shop roasted its own coffee in house on a prominently displayed small batch roaster (or especially an air roaster), it probably meant that you were going to get either bland or terrible coffee. Naturally there are many exceptions, but in Seoul it was very very common for all kinds of cafes to roast their own coffee to give them the aura of artisan production and promote misguided ideas of freshness, when in reality someone on staff just burnt the beans every time. I went to one shop who literally roasted the coffee for you AFTER you placed your order (it was bad). You have to judge whether the roaster is there for style, or if it’s there because someone that works there knows what to do with it, which is hard to do just by looking in a store window.

2. If the signage includes Chinese characters it probably means the owner is from the old school of coffee pioneers in Korea, and thus influenced by (what I assume to be, based on bits of information here and there) older Japanese philosophies of coffee roasting that dark roast, or even burn all the different coffees to achieve a ‘caramel’ and ‘roasty’ flavor. Avoid, because it’s depressing to see so much great coffee wasting away as dark roasts with very little flavor nuance.

3. If the menu offers 10-20 single-origin coffees, chances are none of them have been carefully roasted to bring out the best flavor and instead they’ll all taste fairly generic. They’re also probably stale because that much variety doesn’t turn over quickly. There are, again, exceptions at the places that really take their coffee seriously – you can see some of them in my reviews. But the practice of offering a huge selection of poorly roasted single origin coffee is so normal here that the good cafes really are exceptions to the rule.

If you have any other suggestions for what to avoid, chime in with a comment! Or if you object, tell me why :)

Belief is a relatively new cafe that I first visited many months ago in the Hongdae neighborhood of Seoul, Korea. When I stopped in the first time they were just setting things up, didn’t have an espresso machine installed, and were still apparently adjusting their roast profiles. I stopped in again a couple months ago before I left Korea and saw that they had installed a Synesso espresso machine, and filled up the roasting room with a ton of coffee.

I tried a few of their single origin pour-over coffees and an espresso, both of which tasted promising. They were still trying different blends and roasts when I visited so I can’t really comment that much, but I’m posting the cafe here because I got the sense that this would be a good place as they settle in, and it’d be fun to visit and watch it evolve. So, here’re a few pictures, a map, and an invitation to tell me what you thought about your visit in the comments!

Map Below.

View Belief in a larger map

La Caffe is a restaurant and cafe hidden away in the neighborhood near Wangsimni station. I heard that they had a Slayer espresso machine and made a point of visiting to see what all the fuss was about. You see, the Slayer is a rather rare espresso machine hand built in Seattle, noted in particular for offering some degree of pressure profiling, and nice design details like wood paddles and an angled mirror that lets you see the extraction progress from the bottomless portafilters. Pressure profiling allows the barista to manually adjust the pressure of the water hitting the ground coffee during the course of the shot, and as you’ll see later it adds yet another variable for fine-tuning the taste of the espresso. If you want a little more info (and hype), try this New York Times blog piece, or this Serious Eats review.

When I first visited La Caffe quite a few months ago, it turned out that the Slayer isn’t set up for daily use in the cafe. Instead, there’s a three group Faema E61 paired with what looks like Mazzer Robur and Major grinders that have been thoughtfully equipped with sunshades on the hoppers, hiding the beans from the afternoon sun. (Some of my photos are from the first visit, where there was also a Versalab grinder hiding in the back…).

The espresso was unique and stood out from many that I’ve tried in Korea. The taste brought to mind lemon and salt, which may not sound nice but it was balanced and pleasant with a chocolatey finish and perhaps a hint of aromatic spices. I really enjoyed it and ordered two. The cappuccino seemed prepared a bit more to cater for mainstream tastes, but I’m sure if you’re picky you could ask for something more traditional.

The second time I visited I was happily surprised to meet owner Brandon J.H. Bang, along with an invitation to go up and see the Slayer. He has an enviable workshop, full of espresso machines under various stages of repair or modification, along with a few vintage pieces (like the La Marzocco GS2 pictured below) apparently being restored and/or customized with new internals. There’s also a vintage roaster (if you happen to know the model, please let me know in the comments).

I was treated to a shot of La Caffe’s espresso blend pulled on his modified La Marzocco Linea, followed by the same dose/grind/portafilter on the Slayer with a custom pressure profile. The LM shot tasted like two distinct layers of flavor, like I had taken a bite of an orange, and then a milk chocolate bar; nothing to complain about there, tasted great. But then came the Slayer shot, which was much more integrated, smooth, and rich, like a tangy sweet orange chocolate mousse. It was one of the best espressos I’ve had, without exaggerating. Pressure profiling lets the barista bring out different flavors by finessing the water pressure to highlight desired characteristics of each origin or blend. In the hands of a talented and focused barista that can mean an excellent coffee!

While I can’t promise you a similar experience, I can say the coffee at the restaurant is quite good and the food was also nice, it’s worth a visit. It is a bit out of the way, but do stop by if you’re in the area.

Map and directions below.

Exit Wangsimni station #9. Walk straight out the exit and follow the road as it curves. Walk for a couple minutes until you see a small road on your left, and turn left there. Then you walk straight on that road until you hit a small parking lot, which you cut through and then turn right and walk up the curving past a building with a ton of signs on it. It’ll be on your left.

Yeah, it’s not easy to get to. Here’s a link to Daum.net’s map, which can do road-view if you need more recon before heading out.

View La Caffe in a larger map

MK2 is a cool looking spot in the neighborhood to the west of Gyeongbokgung palace. The decor is made up of mostly mid-century modern furniture, and they have a Faema E61 espresso machine on which they churn out a pretty decent espresso.

It seems like a really chilled out place to relax and study, do some work, or meet a friend. Very quiet when I visited. The neighborhood has a lot of little trendy cafes, design studios, a used bookstore, etc. Seems like a lot of development is going on around this area, worth checking out more places.

Click here for map and directions.

Head to Gyeongbokgung station, exit 3. Walk straight and make a right down one of the side streets; it’ll be on your left. I can’t recall exactly, I might have placed the map marker on the wrong one. If it’s not that first side street, then it’s the second one further north.

View MK2 Cafe in a larger map

]]> http://frshgrnd.com/2010/08/mk2-cafe/feed/ 11 http://frshgrnd.com/2010/08/kt-olleh-square-cafe/ http://frshgrnd.com/2010/08/kt-olleh-square-cafe/#comments Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:34:11 +0000 Aaron Frey http://frshgrnd.com/?p=715 KT Olleh Square Cafe is a post written by FRSHGRND. If you're viewing this on a third party's website, please hit the link above to go directly to the source for a better experience :) FRSHGRND - Cafe Reviews & Coffee News for Thirsty Nomads

KT Olleh Square Cafe is a post written by FRSHGRND. If you're viewing this on a third party's website, please hit the link above to go directly to the source for a better experience :) FRSHGRND - Cafe Reviews & Coffee News for Thirsty Nomads Korea Telecom has built quite a nice little cafe in their first floor show room, amid all the office buildings and historical attractions at Gwanghwamun station near Gyeongbokgung palace. One would expect that a cafe in an electronics showroom would be little more than a gimmick to draw in more potential customers, but I was surprised at the level of investment and quality attained. They are using a Synesso espresso machine, paired with what looked like a Mazzer Robur, and a Ditting grinder for preparing pour-over hand-drip single origin coffees roasted by one of Korea’s big specialty coffee companies, Tera Rosa Coffee. (I tried visiting Tera Rosa while visiting the east coast of Korea, but got knocked out by food poisoning…don’t go to fish markets in the summer time). The espressos I’ve tried there were generally good, if a bit on the over-extracted side. But still quite forgivable and enjoyable. The hand-drip pour-over coffee I [...]

]]> KT Olleh Square Cafe is a post written by FRSHGRND. If you're viewing this on a third party's website, please hit the link above to go directly to the source for a better experience :) FRSHGRND - Cafe Reviews & Coffee News for Thirsty Nomads

Korea Telecom has built quite a nice little cafe in their first floor show room, amid all the office buildings and historical attractions at Gwanghwamun station near Gyeongbokgung palace. One would expect that a cafe in an electronics showroom would be little more than a gimmick to draw in more potential customers, but I was surprised at the level of investment and quality attained. They are using a Synesso espresso machine, paired with what looked like a Mazzer Robur, and a Ditting grinder for preparing pour-over hand-drip single origin coffees roasted by one of Korea’s big specialty coffee companies, Tera Rosa Coffee. (I tried visiting Tera Rosa while visiting the east coast of Korea, but got knocked out by food poisoning…don’t go to fish markets in the summer time).

The espressos I’ve tried there were generally good, if a bit on the over-extracted side. But still quite forgivable and enjoyable. The hand-drip pour-over coffee I tried was also well prepared and tasted really nice, with delicate origin notes showcasing the quality of the bean and the roaster.

Don’t be put off by the corporate surroundings and the majority of clientele in business attire, this is a bona fide specialty cafe worth a visit if you’re in the area! The outdoor terrace and inside decor is also pretty nice for hanging out. It’s bright and airy, and the constant flow of people gives it a nice atmosphere. I think the back wall of the cafe is actually made of dirt with plants growing out of it too… weird, but cool.

Click here for map and directions.

Head to Gwanghwamun station, go out exit 2 and turn around, you’ll see it in the giant KT building.

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]]> http://frshgrnd.com/2010/08/kt-olleh-square-cafe/feed/ 1 http://frshgrnd.com/2010/08/dalmont-cafe/ http://frshgrnd.com/2010/08/dalmont-cafe/#comments Sun, 08 Aug 2010 03:31:53 +0000 Aaron Frey http://frshgrnd.com/?p=703 Dalmont Cafe is a post written by FRSHGRND. If you're viewing this on a third party's website, please hit the link above to go directly to the source for a better experience :) FRSHGRND - Cafe Reviews & Coffee News for Thirsty Nomads

Dalmont Cafe is a post written by FRSHGRND. If you're viewing this on a third party's website, please hit the link above to go directly to the source for a better experience :) FRSHGRND - Cafe Reviews & Coffee News for Thirsty Nomads Dalmont is a nice looking cafe and restaurant next to Hakdong station. I’ve lived right around the corner from it for the past year and popped in many times for one of their tasty shrimp or salami sandwiches. Their coffee has been hit or miss for me in the past with an amazing double ristretto one time, and demitasses full of over extracted coffee on other occasions. However, I believe they’re under new management (or something) now and focusing more on proper coffee preparation given that most of the staff changed over the past month and the recent coffees I’ve tried have been more consistent. They offer all ten of their coffees as single origin espresso based drinks. To do this, they have a bank of ten grinders behind the bar that must take a lot of effort to keep tuned for optimum extraction. When the coffee is good, it’s really good. Their beans are supplied and [...]

]]> Dalmont Cafe is a post written by FRSHGRND. If you're viewing this on a third party's website, please hit the link above to go directly to the source for a better experience :) FRSHGRND - Cafe Reviews & Coffee News for Thirsty Nomads

Dalmont is a nice looking cafe and restaurant next to Hakdong station. I’ve lived right around the corner from it for the past year and popped in many times for one of their tasty shrimp or salami sandwiches. Their coffee has been hit or miss for me in the past with an amazing double ristretto one time, and demitasses full of over extracted coffee on other occasions. However, I believe they’re under new management (or something) now and focusing more on proper coffee preparation given that most of the staff changed over the past month and the recent coffees I’ve tried have been more consistent.

They offer all ten of their coffees as single origin espresso based drinks. To do this, they have a bank of ten grinders behind the bar that must take a lot of effort to keep tuned for optimum extraction. When the coffee is good, it’s really good. Their beans are supplied
and roasted by Coffea, home of the current Korean barista champion, Ahn Jae Hyeuk. I’ve only tried the Brazil Cerrado and the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe for my espressos, both were enjoyable and the Brazil was especially nice as a double ristretto, with rich texture, tangy acidity and sweet milk chocolate notes.

The past few times I’ve ordered coffee there I’ve been served a nice, well prepared standard double. I should also mention that their food is pretty good as well. With the new staff and management I’m not sure how the menu might change, but I’ve always liked their shrimp sandwich (Gamberoni) and their burgers are pretty good as well.

If you’re in the Hakdong neighborhood and need a nice spot for lunch and a coffee, this is the place I’ve gone to most often.

Directions & Map below.
Go to Hakdong station on line 7, exit 10. Turn left at the exit and walk straight for a minute, it’ll be on your left.

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]]> http://frshgrnd.com/2010/08/dalmont-cafe/feed/ 1 http://frshgrnd.com/2010/07/madagascar/ http://frshgrnd.com/2010/07/madagascar/#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:15:09 +0000 Aaron Frey http://frshgrnd.com/?p=692 Madagascar is a post written by FRSHGRND. If you're viewing this on a third party's website, please hit the link above to go directly to the source for a better experience :) FRSHGRND - Cafe Reviews & Coffee News for Thirsty Nomads

Madagascar is a post written by FRSHGRND. If you're viewing this on a third party's website, please hit the link above to go directly to the source for a better experience :) FRSHGRND - Cafe Reviews & Coffee News for Thirsty Nomads My friend Sammie showed me the way to this cafe out near Sookmyung Women’s University. It’s a nice looking cafe, with a spacious and eclectic interior full of National Geographic style photography (the theme is Madagascar after all), photo gear, photo books, and random curios. I guess the owner is a photographer who visited Madagascar and kinda liked it. There’s lots of seating inside and it seems like a nice place to meet friends or study, with plenty of room to find a quiet corner to yourself, or a large table to accommodate a big group. (The photos below only show one side of the cafe). They don’t offer any single origin coffees, or hand drip – though I saw a few drippers & servers behind the bar so maybe they did at some point or will in the future. They do offer the standard range of espresso drinks and flavored stuff, prepared on what looked like a [...]

]]> Madagascar is a post written by FRSHGRND. If you're viewing this on a third party's website, please hit the link above to go directly to the source for a better experience :) FRSHGRND - Cafe Reviews & Coffee News for Thirsty Nomads

My friend Sammie showed me the way to this cafe out near Sookmyung Women’s University. It’s a nice looking cafe, with a spacious and eclectic interior full of National Geographic style photography (the theme is Madagascar after all), photo gear, photo books, and random curios. I guess the owner is a photographer who visited Madagascar and kinda liked it. There’s lots of seating inside and it seems like a nice place to meet friends or study, with plenty of room to find a quiet corner to yourself, or a large table to accommodate a big group. (The photos below only show one side of the cafe).

They don’t offer any single origin coffees, or hand drip – though I saw a few drippers & servers behind the bar so maybe they did at some point or will in the future. They do offer the standard range of espresso drinks and flavored stuff, prepared on what looked like a Nuova Simonelli Appia (which, incidentally, must have good distribution here as it’s common in a lot of cafes).

The double espresso I tried looked nice, tasted pleasant, but the flavor wasn’t anything I’d go out of my way for. Just a solid enjoyable shot and a nice atmosphere. I tried a cappuccino as well and found it satisfying. In the photo if it looks a bit on the foamy side, it was. They make a rather “dry” style layered cappuccino with thick, fine foam on top, rather than the velvety, incorporated micro-foam that many specialty coffee people find preferable. But it wasn’t scalded and the foam had a nice, fine meringue texture. I had no complaints and enjoyed it.

Anyways, it’s solid coffee and a nice spot, check it out if you’re in that area. The space also apparently doubles as a photo studio or gallery and has lectures and classes. Check out their website for more information.

Click here for directions.
Take line 6 to Hyochang Park station and get out at exit #2. Turn around and go the opposite direction from the exit and take a right up the street. It’ll be on your right hand side after a short walk.

View Madagascar in a larger map

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