Caffe Themselves
When I came to Korea in 2007 for a summer at Yonsei University, I was excited to see that Seoul is jammed full of cafes – in fact, I don’t think there’s any place in this city where you’re more than a five minute walk from a cup of coffee (if you know of a...
9 Days in LA Part Three: Intelligentsia
Last winter I was able to go home to Los Angeles with Claire for a quick 9 day holiday vacation with my family. Here’re some pictures of our visit to Intelligentsia’s Venice and Silver Lake locations. I feel like everyone knows about Intelligentsia already and a review would be redundant, so I’ll just share some...
Club Espresso
Club Espresso, established in 1990, is one of Korea’s old school specialty coffee houses. They’re located up in the hills in Buamdong, on the northern side of the Blue House/Gyeongbokgung area in Seoul. It’s a unique area that reminds me of Silverlake in Los Angeles (well, just a little bit, and minus the hipsters). Their...
Intelligentsia Agua Preta, Brazil
The Korean postman who rang my doorbell was probably wondering why I was so happy. If only he knew; it was because, among other things from the states, my sister sent me some coffee from Agua Preta, Brazil roasted by Intelligentsia. Nothing beats getting coffee from artisan roasteries back home. Even if it’s two weeks...
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...
9 Days in LA Part One: LAMILL
Despite ambitious plans to hit a different cafe on each day of our Christmas trip to LA, it turns out that there’s more to life than coffee(!). Visiting your home town for nine days is really not enough time to see everyone and do everything, though it was enough time to get a $446 speeding...
