Seongsu lunch-break café: layered iced latte and scone at T Coffee

Are you working near Seongsu Station and looking for the perfect spot to catch your breath? I found a hideout where you can quietly sip coffee, work or read during lunch or on the way home from the office: T Coffee (티 커피), near Seongsu Station. Here's my write-up.

How close is T Coffee to Seongsu Station?

T Coffee is a café on the first basement floor of a building, a little over a 5-minute walk from Exit 2 of Seongsu Station. Seongsu is always packed, so finding a café where you can relax at lunchtime or after work is hard, but T Coffee is really easy to get to.

Head down the stairs to the basement and all of Seongsu's usual bustle disappears, replaced by a cozy atmosphere. The space is large and the tables are nicely spaced out, so it was perfect for opening a laptop and doing some light work or just spending time alone.

What's the atmosphere at T Coffee, and is it good for working?

T Coffee is a calm space with neat, steel-toned interiors and quiet music. The moment I walked in, I could feel how tidy and stylish the steel-tone design was.

From the counter to the bar where the coffee is made, everything is kept spotless, which made me feel more at ease just looking at it. It isn't noisy either, and most people there were reading or doing their own work. The calm of the space itself made it a great place to sort out a cluttered head.

What's on the T Coffee menu?

The T Coffee menu covers everything from coffee to non-coffee drinks to specialty beans. Besides the basic americano and cold brew, I spotted a vanilla bean latte, flat white, almond latte and mint latte.

There are plenty of options for people who don't drink coffee too, such as matcha latte, vanilla chai tea, lemon shiso mugwort tea (쑥차) and lemon ginger sparkling. The beans on offer were Ethiopian Guji Gogugu Natural specialty coffee, which I think will please anyone who likes fruity aromas and gentle acidity.

T Coffee dessert lineup

The desserts at T Coffee are a pistachio cream choux, biscuit scone, carrot cake, cheesecake and chocolate and lemon sand cookies. Each one that goes with coffee was neatly laid out in the display.

• Pistachio cream choux packed with cream
• Nutty biscuit scone
• Rich carrot cake
• Smooth cheesecake
• Chocolate and lemon sand cookies, easy to enjoy

Everything looked so delicious that I agonized over what to pick for a long time.

How were the iced latte and scone at T Coffee?

After much thought, I ordered an iced latte and a scone at T Coffee. The iced latte went down smoothly, and the scone was crisp outside and moist inside.

The iced latte came in a clear glass, with milk and espresso forming pretty layers, and it felt refreshing just to look at. The beans with a slight hint of acidity and the nutty milk blended together, and it went down really smoothly.

The scone that came with it was crisp outside and moist inside, and eating it with sweet raspberry jam melted my tiredness away. With this level of satisfaction, I think I'll be visiting T Coffee often.

T Coffee info to know before you visit

T Coffee is at 159 Achasan-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul (B1), and it's open 08:00–20:00. The hours are convenient for office workers going in or leaving.

• Address: 159 Achasan-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea (B1)
• Getting there: about 488m from Exit 2 of Seongsu Station, Line 2 (5–7 minute walk)
• Hours: 08:00–20:00
• Services: takeout, Wi-Fi, separate men's and women's restrooms, groups welcome

Why I recommend T Coffee to Seongsu office workers

T Coffee gives a gift of time to yourself for people who work in Seongsu or anyone looking for a quiet place to stay a while. You can feel the care in each drink, and the coffee and dessert pairing is great, so it makes you want to come back often.

When you need a little healing in your busy day, don't forget to stop by T Coffee near Seongsu Station.