Jambon-beurre brunch and chocolate latte in Ansan: Degree Gojan

Went to Degree, my husband's favorite café. He loves this place so much we drop by together every so often, and every time we go, the first thing we do is check out the bread case.

Degree is a bakery café that bakes its own bread, so there's a wide variety, and it's fun just to see what's freshly out today.

Degree Gojan Branch location and hours

• Address: 137 Gwangdeok-daero, A-dong 103, Danwon-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 07:00–24:00

Degree menu

That day we ordered watermelon juice, chocolate latte, and jambon-beurre (ham and butter baguette sandwich).

Jambon-beurre that won me over despite not being a baguette fan

Honestly, I'm not really a baguette person. If the crust is too hard or chewy, my jaw starts hurting after a few bites and I naturally lose interest. But the baguette in Degree's jambon-beurre was different.

The outside had a nice crisp bite, but the inside was surprisingly soft, so it barely felt chewy at all. The salty, savory flavor of the jambon (ham) and butter also matched the baguette really well.

Even I, who doesn't love baguettes in general, ate this one happily to the last bite, so it must genuinely suit my taste. Since you can get bread or a sandwich along with a drink, it's a good spot for a simple brunch too — easy to stop by if you're looking for a brunch café in Ansan.

Watermelon juice so clean you keep sipping

The drink I picked was watermelon juice.

It's Degree's signature menu item. Watermelon juice really varies a lot from café to café — some places make it so sweet that a few sips is enough to feel done with it. Degree's version was pleasantly sweet with a clean finish. It tastes more like the watermelon's own natural sweetness than an artificial sugar boost. My mouth didn't feel heavy or coated afterward, so I could drink it all the way through. A sip of watermelon juice after the jambon-beurre reset my palate nicely — the two paired really well together.

My husband's rich chocolate latte

My husband ordered the chocolate latte. I took a sip and the chocolate flavor was pretty rich, but the finish wasn't bitter at all. It wasn't a light, sweet chocolate-milk kind of taste — more of a deep, heavier flavor.

Even after drinking it, a lingering rich chocolate taste stayed subtly in my mouth, which was nice to slowly enjoy. If you usually like strong chocolate drinks, this one should suit you well.

The bread is great, but I also love the music here

Another reason I love Degree is the music. At a café, interior and drinks matter, but the kind of music playing really changes the whole mood.

Every time I go to Degree, the music selection is good, so it's easy to relax and chat over drinks.

Sitting across from my husband, eating bread, listening to music, and chatting about this and that — time flies faster than you'd expect. It's a good fit if you're looking for a café for a relaxed date in Gojan-dong, Ansan, where the two of you can just talk comfortably.

There's such a wide variety of bread that browsing the display case, you end up wanting to try this one and that one — picking bread is a small joy in itself.

If you're looking for café dessert in Gojan-dong

If you're looking for a good dessert café in Gojan-dong, I'd recommend Degree. While we sat there, delivery orders kept coming in one after another too. Between the people showing up in person and the steady stream of delivery orders, it seems like a genuinely good place always finds its way to people one way or another.

I started going to Degree because my husband loved it, but now I'm building up my own favorite items one by one. This time, the jambon-beurre and watermelon juice combo was very satisfying. Next time, I should try some of the other breads I haven't had yet.