Stumptown Coffee Roasters Garosu-Gil • 스텀프타운 커피 로스터스

I first heard about Stumptown Coffee Roasters (스텀프타운 커피 로스터스) after I moved to Seattle. Just like I associate Blue Bottle Coffee with San Francisco, I associate Stumptown Coffee with Puget Sound and Portland. I'm not necessarily saying that those brands are the best brands in those two cities (they might as well be, but what do I, a non-coffee drinker, know. really), but more because of my friends and the people that I met in those two cities just happened to named those brands as their favorite coffee to drink. Seeing the brand in Seoul, this time in Garosu-gil (가로수길) to be exact, gave me a sense of familiar feeling and reminded me of the time I spent in Seattle. Funny sometimes when I realized the things that I associate with a certain period of my life seemed so small and unimportant back then, but now, they could mean hundreds of memories.

I didn't know when this place was open in Garosu-gil, but I'm guessing not too long ago since I didn't remember seeing it there last summer. I was actually talking about Stumptown Coffee beans with a friend of mine a couple of days before and was telling him that he should try their coffee beans because it's pretty well-known in Portland. And whaddaya know. A couple of days later, I just happened to pass by this place when I was exploring Garosu-gil. Since I'm already there, I thought I would buy a bag of their coffee beans and give it to my friend to try. There was some kind of discount going on I think, cos I get a small discount and a free bottle of cold-brew coffee.

A little about the place, the coffee stand is actually in the same building as the Official Holiday by Koon store. It has a small outdoor seating area, which is pretty nice and cozy I would say. I didn't get to browse around the store other than the Stumptown's corner, but I would definitely go back and check out the store and maybe have a cup of tea and sit around for a bit.

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Update:

This cafe is now closed.

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Amorino • 아모리노

I went to Garosu-gil (가로수길) for a Sunday afternoon stroll after church last week and passed by this gelato place called Amorino (아모리노). Wasn't really planning on getting a gelato or anything, but that rose-shaped gelato on a cone looked interesting. Plus I was sweating from all the walking around and could actually feel that my face was burning. So, taking a break at a gelato place sounded perfect. Ordered hazelnut and vanilla on a cone and it did came out like the pictures they have on the banners in front and on the counter of the store (just minus the macaron in the middle, cos I didn't order one, but it looked exactly like a flower). The gelato has good texture and tasted nyum. The only downside was I had to somewhat quickly finished it cos the weather made it melts pretty fast. Anyways, hope everybody have a good weekend!

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Beliefcoffee Roasters • 빌리프커피 로스터스

I've been spending time back home these past few months and after 1.5 months of hiatus from this blog, I'm back with new updates. I'm currently back in Seoul and gonna stay here for a bit, so hopefully I got more stuff to share these up coming weeks. Spent my first day back in the city being reminded on why I picked summer as my least favorite season in South Korea. It's pretty hot and humid around here, although since I just came from Jakarta, it wasn't a rude awakening, but still... I'm pretty sure I can say the summer weather is in full swing right now with the temperature in 30°C range, high humidity in the air, and cloudy sky followed by occasional rains throughout the day. 

I ended up spending my afternoon at Beliefcoffee Roasters (빌리프커피 로스터스) in Hapjeong (합정) drinking ice green tea latte and catching up with Soo Zee. We stayed there for a good couple of hours with the rest of the crowd that filled the place even though it's only Tuesday. Soo Zee said they're probably escaping the heat in their houses and opted for the cool air-con in the cafe. With the weather outside, I could totally understand that. The cafe is pretty spacious. They have 2 floors, 1st floor and an underground floor. Plenty of tables available available on the first floor and you can find more seatings on the underground floor that has a very interesting interior. If you are looking for a place with cool air-cons to escape the summer heat, this place is definitely worth a visit.

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Watch the video:

 

Beliefcoffee Roasters (빌리프커피 로스터스)

Address: 서울특별시 마포구 양화로11길 50
Tel: 02-322-3100
Hours: 09:30 - 23:30

Instagram: @beliefcoffee_roasters

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Fritz Coffee Company • 프릳츠 도화점

Went to Fritz Coffee Company (프릳츠 커피 컴퍼니) on a nice spring Sunday afternoon with Soo Zee and Leigh to do some work and play. It's been a while since I hung out at a coffee shop on a weekend, I forgot how crowded it can be. This place was especially busy and packed when I walked in. Since I was the last one to arrive, I tried to look for Soo Zee and Leigh when I came in, but couldn't find them anywhere. Apparently, they were on the second floor on the balcony area, which I didn't know this place have. The whole coffee shop is definitely much bigger than it lead on from the outside.

The place is famous for its pastries it seemed like, cos they have a bunch of pastries selections laid out on trays displayed across from the coffee bar. I got the usual, my usual, pain au chocolat with a cup of warm hot chocolate. They were good. I also tried the plain croissant, and I would say it's pretty good. Soo Zee and Leigh thought it was alright, the Old Croissant Factory has better. I never been to the Old Croissant Factory so I didn't know better. 

Anyways, one of the thing that happened during this visit was since the place is pretty big, they have this loud speaker installed on the balcony area to call out orders. The volume on that thing was a little on the loud side and it gets annoying after a couple of times. We just laughed it off after the baristas shouted out the fourth order number. If you are looking for some peace and quite, definitely stay away from the speakers or try to find a seat in the first floor area.

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Samovar Tea Bar

Samovar Tea Bar is one of the places I wanted to visit when I was in San Fran. I found out about this place after I moved out of the city and so I didn't get a chance to check this place out until this trip. The cafe's interior is very different and intriguing. So I decided to look up what's the philosophy behind this brand. According to their website:

"Samovar is an alternate reality. A place where we can step out of the rat race. A place where we invite people to slow down, to inhabit the present moment, to disconnect in order to connect.... We’re about enjoying the basic goodness of being present in the moment."—Jesse Jacobs, Founder.

If that's the case, I definitely can see myself disconnecting and slowing down at this place. The interior does exudes a sense of tranquility and calmness. Definitely a good place to just sit back, relax and recharge yourself. I ordered the green tea latte and it was good. The aroma of the green tea was really nice and it was unsweetened so it gave a really clean taste. I especially enjoyed watching how the teas were being prepared. If you are looking for a good place to drink tea, I would recommend you to check this place out.

Hope everybody have a great weekend and for those of you who are in the States, enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend! :) 

ps: they have another location at the Yerba Buena Gardens, Samovar Tea Lounge, which is bigger than this one and have more food selections. 

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