The shop is located in a residential area in front of Mongchontoseong. The two-lane side street directly in front is a bit wide, giving it a refreshing feel.
The shop is on the first floor of a four-story building. The interior is spacious, and the front features lift-up windows, offering a good sense of openness. Inside, there's a considerably large roasting room, with the main shop floor to the right. Many families are noticeable in the shop—parents with young girls, and young people enjoying coffee alone. There are two young male baristas.
Sometimes, coffee shops have introductory descriptions, and this one does too:
"A specialty coffee professional, serving espresso and brewing coffee prepared by skilled baristas. Roasting is done in a separate space within the shop, and a distinctive feature is the use of dark roast coffee as specialty coffee. They continuously introduce single-origin coffees from various regions annually.
Address: 37, Seongnaero14gil, Gangdong-gu, Seoul (Seongnae-dong), #103
Phone: 02-577-1664
Opening Date: January 6, 2012"
The opening date indicates it's been around for quite a while.
The fact that they feature dark roasts as specialty coffee is noteworthy because dark roasts usually imply the use of less expensive coffee beans. Indeed, if coffee is roasted darkly, the coffee varietal often becomes indistinguishable. Yet, they claim to do so here, which speaks to their skill. Currently, I'm drinking a light roast, so I'll have to try their dark roast later to evaluate it.
The Ethiopian Guji Samuel Gedeo varietal I'm currently enjoying is a typical Ethiopian type. It has flavor, but it's not overly bold; it's smooth and clean.
It's always good for drip coffee.
While the interior of this shop is pleasant, there's also a table on a narrow porch-like area facing the side street to the right. Sitting there, watching passing cars and people, and the water feature near Mongchontoseong, with a breeze blowing from somewhere, also offers a delightful feeling while savoring coffee.
These days, coffee shops almost always place narrow porches or movable chairs outside. While this might be necessary for space utilization, I think user demand is also significant. Wasn't the origin of coffee shops a space for communication? Places that don't communicate with the outside world become closed off and easily stagnate. There are many such areas in society. I increasingly prefer open spaces.
A special neighborhood cafe in Seongnae-dong, Achromatic Coffee.