Freshest ‘Cup of Joe’ in Seoul : Anthracite Coffee

I promised myself I would never do a blog post about a cafe in Seoul, but  I assure you the exception to my rule is well deserved. Anthracite coffee is a spectacular place on many levels, and I can safely say that through all my travels over the years is most definitely my favorite place to get a cup of coffee!

I’ll be the first to admit that a blog post about a cafe in Seoul seems a bit unnecessary, everyone who has spent any amount of time in the city will tell you that there is probably more coffee shops in Seoul than anywhere they have ever been. However even with the extreme over abundance of coffee, Korea has chosen to side with espresso based beverages. This is great for every one who is satisfied with their trusty americano, but for self proclaimed coffee snobs who prefer more refined options such as single origin, drip coffee, there is a serious lack of options.

Anthracite has been the subject of a few other blogs, and as mentioned before I don’t see a huge need for a blog featuring a cafe, but tonight was probably my 5^th visit to the hidden away little gem and with my camera coincidentally in tow and a blog post long overdue I couldn’t resist taking some pictures.

The coffee shop itself is located a short walk from Exit #4 of Sangsu station (line #6), on a very unassuming residential street. Perhaps the most charming point of the cafe to me as a shoe lover is the fact that the cafe itself is in an old shoe factory. The building makes for an amazing environment, which also happens to be very spacious, a rare commodity in Seoul.

 

I am far from a coffee expert, and admittedly am a slave to the vanilla latte, but good coffee done right is impossible to ignore. Coffee grounds begin to lose their flavor as soon as five minutes after being ground, this is why Anthracite grinds every cup at the time of order. Beans are also roasted on location and guaranteed to be fresh. Finally the coffee is hand dripped and served to you at optimal temperature, this all results in the freshest tasting cup of coffee you will find in Seoul. Anthracite offers a wide variety of roasts and drinks to choose from, for the non-coffee lovers there is also a few bottled import beers to choose from.

Anthracite is a bit off the beaten path, but if time permits I definitely recommend checking it out whether you just need a place to work on something alone or talk with some friends. The wide open environment is conducive to a variety of needs. As a final note, and I wish I got some better pictures of them, but all the more reason to go check for yourself if you haven’t already been, how badass are the staff aprons?