Quiet morning café in Gwanak, Seoul for caramel muffin: Pulse Line

I stopped by Pulse Line Coffee, a new café on Sharosu-gil between Seoul National University of Education Station and Nakseongdae Station. I visited around 11am, and since it was still early, there were no other customers inside, so I got to enjoy coffee and dessert quietly. The space is neatly done up in black tones, which made it a nice spot to sit alone with a book. Their signature is a handmade pie made right in the shop, so I was curious and ordered it.

Where Pulse Line Coffee is and what time it opens

Pulse Line Coffee sits between Seoul National University of Education Station and Nakseongdae Station, making it a good quiet pick when you're looking for a café on Sharosu-gil. It's open weekdays from 8am to 8pm and weekends from 9am to 8pm. I visited around 11am and the shop was pretty quiet with no other customers around.

Is the black-toned café quiet enough for a solo visit?

The vibe is clean and centered on black tones, giving it that brand-new-café feel. They also sell cup merchandise, so it was fun to browse around the shop. Visiting in the morning meant there was no crowded feeling at all — it was calm enough that I felt like I could easily sit and read a book here.

Pulse Line Coffee menu: the four signature items

Pulse Line Coffee has coffee, filter coffee, and a range of desserts. There are four main signature items: Line Spänner, Pulsnal Latte, Crumble Pie, and Brûlée Pie. The Line Spänner is their signature einspänner, made with a latte base topped with chewy cream and rich caramel sweetness.

The Pulsnal Latte is another signature, made with their own blended herb milk sweetened with red beet. On the dessert side, the crumble pie and brûlée pie are the standout menu items.

They also have filter coffee separately, so if you're a coffee lover you can pick your beans. When I visited, they had Bean of the Month, Guatemala, Guatemala Decaf, Ethiopia, and Colombia available.

There were also several kinds of muffins, and everything looked so good it took me a while to decide. Since it had been a while since I had an einspänner, I was going to order the Line Spänner. But I also wanted to try the handmade pie since they make it in-house, and I figured a plain Americano would go better with a sweet dessert, so in the end I ordered iced Americano, crumble pie, and caramel muffin.

Iced Americano, crumble pie and caramel muffin at 11am

The iced Americano was on the nutty side and the portion was fairly generous. It didn't feel lacking even alongside the desserts, and it cut through the sweetness of the pie and muffin nicely.

Pulse Line Coffee's crumble pie is a handmade pie with a cookie base, sweet caramel cream cheese filling, and a crumbly texture on top. It's made fresh in the shop, and tasting it, the caramel cream cheese filling gave it a strong caramel aroma and plenty of sweetness.

The cookie base was moist, and with the crumble on top the texture was soft and pleasant. It's about the size of a pizza, so I originally planned to eat it lightly with my coffee, but it turned out to be quite filling on its own. Apparently the pie has to be kept chilled, which is why it isn't displayed in the showcase.

I also picked out a caramel muffin. It was about the size of a typical muffin, moist in texture and quite sweet. Eating it with the iced Americano kept the sweetness from feeling overwhelming — good thing I ordered the Americano.

Is Pulse Line Coffee in Gwanak worth a visit?

This visit to Pulse Line Coffee on Sharosu-gil turned out to be a calm café experience near Seoul National University of Education Station. From filter coffee to handmade pies and all sorts of desserts — if you're craving coffee and dessert between Seoul National University of Education Station and Nakseongdae Station, Pulse Line Coffee is worth a stop.