Koffee & Kpop

My favorite Girl Scouts cookie is the Thin Mint, so it would make sense that I like mint chocolate flavored things.

Actually, I’m not that big of a fan of “mint choco” (as they say here in Korea). For me, there’s just something delicious about an icy, frozen Thin Mint pulled straight from the freezer on a hot summer day.

Some friends let me know of a cafe dedicated to mint choco and I decided to meet up with a new friend there because it looked really cute and creative.

Located on the second floor of a street corner building in Yeonnam-dong, Mint Choco World definitely fills a niche in a bustling area where you bump into a quaint cafe every few steps.

I met my friend on a rainy Saturday afternoon at 3pm, which is important to note because the cafe’s usual array of mint choco-flavored pastries had dwindled down to mint choco cupcakes, mint choco brioche buns, and mint choco tiramisu (which was sold out by the time we left).

The cafe definitely sticks to its mint choco theme, but not in an overwhelming way. There’s a number of mint choco food items you can buy, as well as stickers, keychains, and glassware. I thought the mascot was quite cute and if I liked mint choco more, probably would have picked up a keychain.

The mint choco tiramisu was surprisingly good, because the espresso flavor still came through. The ladyfingers were really soggy however, either from having sat out since open or simply not being substantial enough to hold up to the espresso and mint choco icing. I ordered the mint choco latte, and appreciated that it didn’t just look like chocolate milk–they added mint ice cream to what was basically chocolate milk. (A note here: like in many other places in the world, a “latte” in Korea is just milk and a “cafe latte” is espresso and milk, unless a latte is listed under the coffee drinks.)

I wasn’t a fan of the mint choco latte, as it was too sweet for me and ever since realizing I’m lactose intolerant, whenever I do drink regular milk it turns my stomach a little bit.

The baristas spoke English but humored me when I spoke Korean to them, which I really appreciated. They let me order completely in Korean and only spoke English when they gave me my order number. One of them was wearing a cute handmade bucket hat that was brown and mint colored. They do not have a posted English menu but you can access one on Instagram. (I’d recommend them to print one to better assist their non-Korean speaking customers.)

If you love mint chocolate, this will be your paradise, but come early–preferably at opening so you can get the best pick of the pastries. I’m kicking myself a little bit for having missed out on a mint canele.

Instagram: minchodan_official