Koffee & Kpop

Recently, two friends and I met up at Bean Brothers Coffee House in Sangsu, Seoul. Located on the 6th, 7th, and rooftop of a building, it’s a fancy cafe with a minimalistic menu that is crafted to provide quality drinks, rather than a great quantity of drinks. And the view of the Han River is not to be overlooked.

When you first walk in, someone will find a seat for you–you do not get to choose your own seat. There is a tablet for when it gets busy but as I went early, there were still open seats. All of the staff I spoke to spoke English well, so I let them know that I was waiting for a friend and they sat me at a two person table in a corner by the window. When a second friend came, we slid over to the couch area (this was before I realized that we probably should have asked to move).

They hand you a simple menu consisting of three booklets: coffee, after coffee, and non coffee. The coffee is simple, with only a few options: americano, latte, espresso, and filter coffee. There are two options for espresso beans: Black Suit and Velvet White. They had several filter options and I went with the Colombian. There are three desserts to choose from: a butter sponge cake, chocolate brownie (which my friend raved about), and citron mousse.

I started with a butter sponge cake and iced Colombian pour over. A staff member came over and asked if I was ready to order and I felt a bit rushed, so I went ahead and ordered before my friend arrived. The butter sponge cake was perfectly fine, but nothing special. The Colombian pour over was excellent. Later, I had a Black Suit iced americano (as one does in Korea) and really enjoyed the dark chocolate and caramel notes. It’s one of the better iced americanos I’ve had in Korea.

While I enjoyed the simplicity of the menu and focus on quality rather than quantity, I do think the dessert menu could be spruced up a bit with either an additional item or two or something a little more interesting than a plain butter sponge cake. With such a focus on coffee beans, a dessert incorporating coffee would have been excellent, but maybe something other than a tiramisu which, while delicious, is often average-tasting and seen in a lot of cafes.

Beans are available for purchase but I’m unsure if they roast them there or not. There are plenty of small tables in the space, including a long table that I imagine can be used for individuals looking to work somewhere for an hour and two.

And that’s another thing–while there is no listed time limit (as far as I saw), they will politely ask you to leave after a while. I think the only reason why they didn’t ask us to leave is because I ordered a second drink. (And I think this happens quite often at some of the cafes I go to.)

On the 6th floor is the bar, and I’m really curious what is there but didn’t explore, nor did I explore the rooftop as it was a rainy day. Apparently they sell a coffee flight on the 6th floor and I will probably go back for the sole purpose of having the coffee flight. (I love beverage flights because it allows me to try different drinks and experience different flavors and it helps train your palate. I don’t even care if my friends make fun of me for having 4 different kinds of beer in front of me.)

Bean Brothers appears to be a chain in Korea, and there are several locations, including one in nearby Hapjeong. There is a place called “Gyeol” by Bean Brothers and they have a variety of caneles, so that is added to my list as well.

I’d rate this 4.5 espresso shots out of 5, with the only demerit being the time limit and limited dessert options.

Instagram: bean_brothers