Hojicha affogato café in Garden5, Seoul: Wunder Coffee Bar

What do hojicha and hojicha ice cream taste like?

Hojicha is a traditional Japanese tea made by roasting green tea at high heat, and hojicha ice cream is a dessert made by adding that tea to dairy. Before digging into the hojicha affogato at Wunder Coffee Bar, the writer first put together this explanation.

Hojicha (Hōjicha) is a traditional Japanese tea, made by roasting green tea at high heat. Roasting reduces the grassy smell of the leaves and brings out a toasty aroma and a faint caramel flavor. Its astringency is gentler than regular green tea, and its appeal lies in the brown color of the tea and its nutty fragrance. Hojicha ice cream is a dessert made by adding roasted hojicha powder or brewed tea to dairy such as milk and cream. The deep, toasty flavor of the tea blends with the softness and gentle sweetness of the dairy. Unlike the fresh, bittersweet taste of green tea ice cream, it lets you enjoy the nutty aroma and calm flavor of roasted tea.

Dessert after a meal at Garden5, solved!

If you want both coffee and ice cream after a meal at Garden5, the affogato at Wunder Coffee Bar is your answer. Eating at Garden5 and then just going home? What a waste, right? If you want a coffee AND ice cream after your meal? Affogato!

How much is a Wundergato at Wunder Coffee Bar?

A Wundergato (ice cream coffee) at Wunder Coffee Bar is ₩7,200 a cup, and we ordered three, so the total came to ₩21,600. What to eat? Don't agonize over it!

• Wundergato (ice cream coffee) ₩7,200 × 3
• Total ₩21,600

Preview

Dear readers of Travel Encyclopedia, do you like affogato? I really love hojicha too. Let me give it a try!

How many ice cream flavors are there? The signature is hojicha

At the Garden5 branch of Wunder Coffee Bar, you can choose the ice cream on your Wundergato from three flavors. Of those, I'll recommend Wunder Coffee Bar's signature, hojicha!

Hangul Day: high school friends all go with hojicha affogato

On Hangul Day, when none of us had to work, my high school friends and I grabbed a spot in the Garden5 food court and ordered the hojicha Wundergato at Wunder Coffee Bar. No fighting over what to eat: hojicha affogato for everyone!

Is Wunder Coffee Bar's hojicha ice cream more bitter than matcha?

Wunder Coffee Bar's hojicha ice cream has both the nuttiness and the bitterness hojicha is known for, but it isn't as intensely bitter as matcha ice cream. It's a subtle note that comes through between the soft, sweet vanilla.

What does it taste like with espresso poured on?

In the hojicha Wundergato, the bitterness of the espresso wraps right around the nuttiness of the hojicha. You get to drink coffee and eat ice cream at the same time! The best dessert after a meal, I tell you!

Before & After: empty-bowl proof

Dooooone!

I was taught that the proof of a great restaurant is an empty bowl!!

Are there set menu discounts at Wunder Coffee Bar?

At the Garden5 branch of Wunder Coffee Bar, there's reportedly a discount if you order a set: a Wundergato with a Wunder Coffee, or a Wundergato with an Americano! So if you want an extra coffee on the side, keep that in mind.