Before this, I was at 2Z Coffee in Namdaemun Market
For my second night in Seoul, I transferred to a hanok-style guesthouse in Sagan-dong, a very quiet neighborhood east of Gyeongbokgung Palace, in Jongno-gu. Samcheongdong was just to the north, a short walk away from Raon Hanok Guesthouse where I stayed. I chose this guesthouse because I wanted to feel the Korean traditional lifestyle of living in a hanok and also because I needed to be close to Samcheongdong for which I liberally allotted most of my time for the next day.
I woke up quite early on my second morning in Seoul, maybe around 7, because I was excited. But I was met with a Samcheongdong that was still in deep sleep, except of course for the few capitalistic coffee shop giants that need to open early and catch the early worms. But again, I would not walk into a Coffee Bean or Starbucks for coffee in Seoul.
Since I was there very early, I passed the time walking the whole stretch of Samcheongdong-gil Road and finding the path that connected to Bukchon Hanok Village.
After wandering around and having breakfast at a nice hole in the wall, I went back to Samcheongdong-gil Road and randomly chose Beansbins Coffee, which is slightly obscured by a shop in front of it but is nonetheless visible thanks to the height of its building.
The ambiance was perfect when I went inside Beansbins Coffee. There were few people and I could get a nice spot next to the terrace on the third floor so I could look out to the main road and watch the street scenery composed of shops, trees, people, and vehicles.
I got their Cold Brew Cube Latte, which seems to be a pretty popular coffee drink in Seoul. It may come in different names and use different kinds of coffee, but it is basically a set of coffee ice cubes and warm milk served separately, and then you get to enjoy pouring the milk over the ice cubes and watch them mesmerizingly blend together. I first knew it as kori coffee, as it was my favorite drink at UCC coffee shops in Manila. The drink is also served with a little jug of sugar syrup so you can control the sweetness of your drink.
Seoul is definitely a coffee lover’s paradise.
Daybook by Rei 