Hapjeong roastery café comparing two Ethiopia drips: Central Site

Among the many Hapjeong cafés, I went to Central Site Hapjeong, a place where you can smell the beans and pick your own. It's close to Exit 2 of Hapjeong Station, so it was easy to find, and once inside there was a roasting space plus a nice interior atmosphere! It's even a dog-friendly café you can visit with your pup!

That day I had two Ethiopian beans brewed as hand drip, and also ordered the Classic Tiramisu. The tiramisu was really delicious, but what stayed with me longest after finishing was definitely the coffee! Let me introduce Central Site Hapjeong, a Hapjeong café where the hand-drip coffee is a work of art.

Where is Central Site Hapjeong and when is it open?

• Location: 20 Yanghwa-ro 7-gil, 1st floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul
• Hours: Mon–Sun 08:00–22:00, weekends open at 08:30
• Transit: About 3 minutes on foot from Hapjeong Station

Parking near Central Site Hapjeong

There's no separate parking at the store. The nearest paid lot is the Mecenatpolis parking lot, which offers 30 minutes free! Otherwise you'll need to park in a nearby paid lot.

The exterior and the dog-friendly outdoor seats

Central Site Hapjeong is really close to Hapjeong Station, so it wasn't hard to find. There are seats prepared outside, and since it's a dog-friendly café, many people were sitting there with their dogs!

Inside Central Site Hapjeong and its roasting space

The interior is made up of table seats, window bar seats, and the outdoor seats. There aren't that many seats overall!

As soon as you walk in, the roasting equipment is naturally visible within the space!

There's information about beans and brewing everywhere, so this is more of a Hapjeong café where you slow down and choose the coffee itself, rather than one where you just grab a dessert and leave.

When I ordered coffee, I also got to watch them hand-drip it right there, which was nice.

Central Site Hapjeong menu and coffee prices

We ordered two cups of hand-drip coffee and the Classic Tiramisu! The price varies depending on the bean you choose, and the Classic Tiramisu is ₩8,500!

We were debating which drip coffee to have, so we slowly smelled several beans and picked the one that matched our taste. Among hand-drip cafés, it's rare to find one this thorough, and I was so satisfied!

• Ethiopia Tamiru: ₩11,000
• Ethiopia Single Farmer: ₩13,000
• Classic Tiramisu: ₩8,500

We like coffee with acidity, so we chose two Ethiopian beans! Since I love dessert, I also ordered the Classic Tiramisu haha

How did the Ethiopia Tamiru hand drip taste?

Ethiopia Tamiru! The description card introduces it as a coffee centered on the sweet fruitiness of ripe strawberries and the delicate floral notes of jasmine, with rich juiciness following through. The acidity felt bright and clear, finishing cleanly with a lingering gentle sweetness!

Definitely the familiar taste and aroma you'd expect from an expensive Ethiopian coffee! The acidity is fairly strong, so if you're not into acidity, you might want to choose a different bean! The aroma is complex, and the fruity notes are really lovely.

What does the Ethiopia Single Farmer taste like?

Ethiopia Single Farmer — the next bean's description says it carries jasmine and white floral notes followed by bright citrus, with a clear sweetness and elegant floral aroma. Tasting it, I immediately picked up the jasmine scent just as described, followed by lasting citrus notes! The sweetness isn't especially strong, but it's well balanced with the other flavors haha

Classic Tiramisu, 8,500 won: the chocolate bark is the highlight

The tiramisu was one of those desserts I kept marveling at while eating! I'd honestly rank it among the best tiramisu I've ever had.... I think it might even be better than the one I had in Italy ㅠㅠㅠ

The bread, soaked moist with coffee, flows smoothly together with the mascarpone cheese, and the chocolate bark on top adds a great textural highlight. The chocolate bark itself has a luxurious chocolate taste, so it became a real point of flavor and texture amid the soft tiramisu haha

Even the coffee mixed into the tiramisu was delicious, making it even more of a certified banger! I came looking for a Hapjeong café with great hand-drip coffee and ended up equally impressed by the dessert! I really recommend ordering the tiramisu together with a hand-drip coffee.

Is Central Site Hapjeong worth a visit?

A Hapjeong café where both the hand-drip coffee and the dessert are genuinely delicious! Cafés that actually do drip coffee properly are rare, and Central Site was even more satisfying because you get to smell the beans yourself before choosing. Above all, the tiramisu was easily one of the best I've had!

It seems already famous as a dog-friendly café, since so many people visited the outdoor seats with their dogs haha. I got permission from the owner and got to pet the dogs to my heart's content, which made this Hapjeong café, Central Site, all the more satisfying. Good stuff..!