a tale of too many coffees
Extremely caffeinated, approach with caution
Annyeonghasebro.
Let it be known that my Korea trip musings will just appear as haphazardly as I govern my entire existence.
For the past six months or so, I had deemed buying lattes from surrounding cafes at work an endeavour too expensive to keep up – on top of inconsistent tasting drinks that were always too milky, too diluted, too acidic for my dark roast preferences – the list goes on. But here we are documenting the caffeinated drinks I purchased from various locations in Seoul, at a higher premium than back home.
“Coffee, because adulting is hard.”
1. Cafe Gongmyeong
This wasn’t my first but it was one to remember. The cafe was spacious, lively without being too noisy, and staff who can speak a fair amount of English. I had a regular iced latte with – what I am told to be a god-like – chocolate canele. Crisp and crunchy outside, perfectly soft and custardy inside. I could go on and on here but I won’t; I did have a lovely text conversation with my dad while I chilled out here so I’m writing this down for posterity because I really don’t visit home enough these days.
2. Butter Bakery
Second day in Seoul started off cold, gloomy and above all, wet. I stepped out all bundled up to visit this little place I scoped out the night before. Picked up a piping hot latte with a chive + cheese scone before being absolutely pelted with rain in my mad dash back to the Airbnb. It was here that I made my first timelapse of me leisurely enjoying my breakfast while watching the weather turn for the worse.
I was extremely wet the entire day.
3. Yann Couvreur
The next day marked Jovian’s arrival and the end of my mini solo adventure in Seoul. It was nice to have company. Turbulence kept him up for most of the flight so of course we turned to caffeine. As pretty as this place is, the coffee was just average but the bakes were good: standard pain au chocolat for me, a mushroom danish for him. We spent the day exploring and had the most incredible yukhoe which I will gush about in a later post.
4. Cafe Kitsune
A list of Seoul cafes wouldn’t be complete without this one. Natalie had arrived to complete the trio, and our first order of business was to acquaint her with the cafe culture Jovian and I had been partaking in. Coffee here is rich, dark, and priced reasonably. We were sorely tempted by their in-store merch but we held back somehow. May the gods be with you on your visit as well.
5. Cream Chic
Jovian and I wandered in here to regain some mana through tasty snacks and good coffee. Mission accomplished. It seemed to be a popular space and for good reason. It was our first time trying a fig tart and the flavours did not disappoint! The canele was also good and super adorable since they decorated for Halloween.
6. With Coffee Roastery
Out of all the lattes I’ve had, this one had the cutest sleeve which I truly appreciated. Oh, and the coffee was good too. We ventured out of our usual way and chanced upon this quiet space filled with Nordic style furniture and smiling baristas — excellent start to a long day.
7. Deep Coffee
Last but not least, the one with the weird name down the street. Every time I passed this place it was already after dinner and I wasn’t about to risk insomnia from unknown levels of caffeine. This was the smart decision as we soon discovered the size of their drinks that averaged at 5000w for the standard menu.
That’s all I have for now; I hope I continue on this writing journey thing.