Star City’s Star Kitchen
Korea is a nation of giant apartment blocs, and many of the nicer ones have large shopping complexes at the lower levels. The Star City development next to Konkuk University station (Gundae Ipgu) has an E-mart, Lotte mall, and a bunch of shops, complete with a weird Brian Eno-esque soundtrack piped in to the hallways...
Quickshot: Cafe Cantata
Posts tagged ‘Quickshot’ will be brief tips on where to get a coffee or espresso fix, highlighting places that don’t really need a full blown article and photo spread. First up: Cafe Cantata. This small coffee counter is part of the ‘Luxury Food’ court at Star City’s Lotte Supermarket next to Konkuk University (Gundae Ipgu/Konguk...
CBTL in Korean
Around Insadong and Gyeongbokgung there is a law mandating that signage must use the Korean language. Here’s what “The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf” looks like spelled out phonetically in Korean.
Miz Moren
Hongdae, or Hongik University, is famous for its art programs, as well as the district immediately surrounding the school. Near quite a few universities (Ewha, Yonsei, Sogang, etc.), the area is a one-stop destination for everything trendy, artsy, and otherwise entertaining. There are so many very nice looking cafes around this area that it can...
Coffee Mill
The Korean “Kuh-pi Bang-aht-gan” is roughly equivalent to “Coffee Mill.” This is one of the cafes I visited in 2007 on my first trip to Korea. It’s located in the Samcheongdong neighborhood near the Blue House Presidential residence and Gyeongbokgung Palace. While their coffee is not really worth mentioning, the interior style is pretty cool...
Caffe Artigiano – Seoul
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...
Park Hyatt, Seoul
It’s surprising how few fine dining establishments bother to compliment their meticulously prepared food with quality coffee. A while ago I found out that LAMILL has a roastery in Korea that supplies coffee to a few restaurants and hotels, including the Hyatt, so I was looking forward to trying it out at some point. For...
Republic of Coffee
Earlier this week I had a chance to visit 2009 Korean Barista Champion Lee Jong Hoon’s workshop in the north east area of Seoul. My coworkers from the middle school I teach at here in Korea actually made the reservation. I guess the coffee I make for the office every day has brought them over...
Apgujeong Coffee House
Heo Hyeong Man, owner of Apgujeong Coffee House, is well known as one of the oldest artisanal coffee roasters in Korea. His tiny shop is all business with barely enough room for the large coffee roaster, burlap sacks of coffee beans, a few small coffee trees growing in planters, and three tables. There’s nothing showy...
Paul Bassett Roastery, Korea – Kenya AA
When I visited ‘Coffee Station Paul Bassett’ at Gosok Terminal, I picked up a 100g bag of Kenya Gethumbwini AA. Each bag has a sticker with roast date, so you can make sure your coffee is fresh. The Kenya was not as in-your-face fruity or acidic as Kenyas I’ve tried in the past, but instead...
Coffee Station Paul Bassett
Paul Bassett won the World Barista Championship in 2003, and since then he’s opened cafe/roasteries in both Tokyo and Seoul. I stumbled upon the Seoul location a few months ago and just got a chance to head back to take some pictures. If it weren’t for the giant glass-enclosed Probat roaster, the awkwardly named ‘Coffee...
Cafe DeBibes
Spotted this coming out of exit six at Gyeongbokgung station. The Korean text says “Illy Cafe” but this cafe is also branded with the name ‘Cafe DeBibes’ (pronounced Bee-Bays in the Korean text). I tried an espresso here thinking it might be good, but there were a lot of fines in the cup and it...
