Stumptown Coffee Roasters Garosu-Gil • 스텀프타운 커피 로스터스

I first heard about Stumptown Coffee Roasters (스텀프타운 커피 로스터스) after I moved to Seattle. Just like I associate Blue Bottle Coffee with San Francisco, I associate Stumptown Coffee with Puget Sound and Portland. I'm not necessarily saying that those brands are the best brands in those two cities (they might as well be, but what do I, a non-coffee drinker, know. really), but more because of my friends and the people that I met in those two cities just happened to named those brands as their favorite coffee to drink. Seeing the brand in Seoul, this time in Garosu-gil (가로수길) to be exact, gave me a sense of familiar feeling and reminded me of the time I spent in Seattle. Funny sometimes when I realized the things that I associate with a certain period of my life seemed so small and unimportant back then, but now, they could mean hundreds of memories.

I didn't know when this place was open in Garosu-gil, but I'm guessing not too long ago since I didn't remember seeing it there last summer. I was actually talking about Stumptown Coffee beans with a friend of mine a couple of days before and was telling him that he should try their coffee beans because it's pretty well-known in Portland. And whaddaya know. A couple of days later, I just happened to pass by this place when I was exploring Garosu-gil. Since I'm already there, I thought I would buy a bag of their coffee beans and give it to my friend to try. There was some kind of discount going on I think, cos I get a small discount and a free bottle of cold-brew coffee.

A little about the place, the coffee stand is actually in the same building as the Official Holiday by Koon store. It has a small outdoor seating area, which is pretty nice and cozy I would say. I didn't get to browse around the store other than the Stumptown's corner, but I would definitely go back and check out the store and maybe have a cup of tea and sit around for a bit.

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Update:

This cafe is now closed.

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Amorino • 아모리노

I went to Garosu-gil (가로수길) for a Sunday afternoon stroll after church last week and passed by this gelato place called Amorino (아모리노). Wasn't really planning on getting a gelato or anything, but that rose-shaped gelato on a cone looked interesting. Plus I was sweating from all the walking around and could actually feel that my face was burning. So, taking a break at a gelato place sounded perfect. Ordered hazelnut and vanilla on a cone and it did came out like the pictures they have on the banners in front and on the counter of the store (just minus the macaron in the middle, cos I didn't order one, but it looked exactly like a flower). The gelato has good texture and tasted nyum. The only downside was I had to somewhat quickly finished it cos the weather made it melts pretty fast. Anyways, hope everybody have a good weekend!

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Samovar Tea Bar

Samovar Tea Bar is one of the places I wanted to visit when I was in San Fran. I found out about this place after I moved out of the city and so I didn't get a chance to check this place out until this trip. The cafe's interior is very different and intriguing. So I decided to look up what's the philosophy behind this brand. According to their website:

"Samovar is an alternate reality. A place where we can step out of the rat race. A place where we invite people to slow down, to inhabit the present moment, to disconnect in order to connect.... We’re about enjoying the basic goodness of being present in the moment."—Jesse Jacobs, Founder.

If that's the case, I definitely can see myself disconnecting and slowing down at this place. The interior does exudes a sense of tranquility and calmness. Definitely a good place to just sit back, relax and recharge yourself. I ordered the green tea latte and it was good. The aroma of the green tea was really nice and it was unsweetened so it gave a really clean taste. I especially enjoyed watching how the teas were being prepared. If you are looking for a good place to drink tea, I would recommend you to check this place out.

Hope everybody have a great weekend and for those of you who are in the States, enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend! :) 

ps: they have another location at the Yerba Buena Gardens, Samovar Tea Lounge, which is bigger than this one and have more food selections. 

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Paul Bassett

For those of you who doesn't know, I've been spending time in my hometown these past few months and now I'm back in Seoul again. Spent the first day back just chillin' with @unlikelysquiggle at Paul Bassett (폴 바셋) the whole afternoon after meeting with @soozee324 to wish her a happy birthday. I've passed by Paul Basset hundreds of times before, but never actually tried this place before. The places always seem to be crowded for some reasons when I passed 'em by. Ordered royal milk tea lattes and the earl grey roll and we were pleasantly surprised on how good the food and drinks are. And by good, I mean not too sweet. The cake was really moist and fluffy too.

Anyways, I will be staying in Seoul for a while so things should be interesting in next couple of weeks. You can follow along daily on my instagram or my snapchat (@greysuitcase) to get a peek on what I'm up to here in the city. 

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Sightglass Coffee

Up to this point, I have posted many posts about cafes that I've visited in the past. And if you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know that I'm no food or coffee experts by any means. Most of writings involved the description of the place and whether or not I enjoyed their food or drinks. Some common things about the places I've shared are: first, they are usually nicely designed or cozy spaces and/or, second, they have great selections of tea, non-coffee drinks, or hot chocolate. So with that said, to make it a little bit interesting, from now on I think I'll try to share a little story about interesting things I saw or experienced during my visit or maybe just something random about me to mix it up a little ;)

I've never been a big on breakfast kinda person. I don't really get hungry when I wake up, not 'til a couple of hours later anyway, so breakfast is not something that is mandatory for me. But when I'm in the mood for breakfast, there are certain things that I enjoyed the most during these morning meals. A cup of rich but not-too-sweet hot chocolate with a perfectly baked pain au chocolat on a warm spring morning is one of them. And Sightglass Coffee actually serves that combo. I had a really pleasant morning hanging out with my mom at this place, eating pastries, people watching, and enjoying the warm sunlight that came through the window next to where we're sitting. If their famous coffee selections doesn't really convince you to check this place out, maybe their beautiful floor tiles will ;) 

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