Daeheung Station morning café: vanilla latte, Basque cheesecake, Ieo

I was looking for a café with a nice atmosphere around Gongdeok Station and found Ieo Coffee Roasters (이어커피로스터스), a roastery tucked away inside an alley. Everything from the beans to the syrups and desserts is handmade! Their philosophy is that small bits of care add up to quality. And the owner is handsome, which is not-so-secret info, haha.

How do you get to Ieo Coffee Roasters from Daeheung Station?

Ieo Coffee Roasters sits between Gongdeok Station and Daeheung Station, with Daeheung Station being a bit closer. Come out of Daeheung Station Exit 3 and keep going straight until you reach an S-oil gas station. Right behind the station, in a small alley, is Ieo Coffee Roasters.

Right here~ You have to step a little off the main road, so the mood is quiet and calm :)

Is there parking?

Ieo Coffee Roasters has no parking of its own. In the alleys of Gongdeok-dong it is often hard to have a space, so if you come by car, use a nearby public car park.

Anyway, I found myself a café with real character! Haha.

Atmosphere and seating at Ieo Coffee Roasters

Ieo Coffee Roasters roasts its own beans, so there was a roasting machine in one corner of the shop. I bet the nutty smell of coffee is wonderful when they're roasting.

It is a small space inside the alley, so it felt cozy and quiet. Not noisy at all, a place where you can focus calmly on a cup of coffee^^ I came a bit early this day, and just after 8 there were already quite a few customers. By 9 they all cleared out, and then people came back, haha.

There is also a seat with a view out the window. It is set apart from the tables, so if you want even more stillness, this window seat would be a good choice :)

Dessert menu and prices at Ieo Coffee Roasters

The cookies and cakes at Ieo Coffee Roasters are handmade desserts baked in the shop by the owner. When I went in the morning, everything was out by around 9.

• Walnut pecan choco / white macadamia cookies ₩3,800

• Basque cheesecake ₩5,700
• Lemon cake ₩6,000
• Egg financier ₩3,800

Every single one looked so delicious~

Drink menu and choosing your beans

The americano at Ieo Coffee Roasters is ₩4,300, and the vanilla latte, made with homemade vanilla bean syrup, is ₩5,500. There are also seasonal items like plum granita, summer crumble affogato and basil tomato juice, so you'll want to try them before the season passes, haha!

At Ieo Coffee Roasters you can choose the type of coffee bean. I like some acidity, so I asked for a recommendation and they suggested numbers 2 and 3.

Can you buy drip bags and espresso capsules too?

Yes, Ieo Coffee Roasters also sells drip bags and espresso capsules~

The packaging is so cute and clean that it would make a good gift for a friend who loves coffee :)

The bean descriptions are well done too~

How does the iced vanilla latte with homemade syrup taste?

What I ordered at Ieo Coffee Roasters was a Basque cheesecake and an iced vanilla latte!

It was a latte with their own homemade vanilla syrup, and instead of an artificial vanilla scent, it had a natural, deep vanilla flavor! The syrup wasn't very sweet, just right, which I liked :)

How does the Basque cheesecake at Ieo Coffee Roasters taste?

The Basque cheesecake at Ieo Coffee Roasters has a deeply burnt top. The outside is slightly bitter, but the inside was full of soft, creamy cheese!

Soft and dense! It had a somehow upscale flavor that surprised me, haha. They whipped the fresh cream right then for me, and its gentle, not-too-sweet taste went really well with it.

The Basque cheesecake was so good that I ordered one more to take out, haha.

A morning walk on Gyeongui Line Forest Park with coffee in hand

Gyeongui Line Forest Park is right next to Ieo Coffee Roasters, so I took my coffee for a morning walk. It was my first time there, and I couldn't believe there's a place like this in the middle of the city! Great for walking, great for jogging, great for sitting on a bench with a coffee^^

Ieo Coffee Roasters is a little gem of a café I met inside an alley in Gongdeok-dong. If you want delicious coffee and desserts in a cozy atmosphere, do drop by :)