Yeonnam-dong café: iced Bolivia pulse Geisha drip, Central Site

Normally I meet people at the hot spots in Seongsu, close to my home, but this time I headed to Yeonnam-dong for the first time in ages. Since it was a rare trip, I wanted a calm place with great coffee made with a barista's care, not some predictable franchise. After some thought I picked Central Site Yeonnam, a Yeonnam-dong café already famous among specialty coffee lovers for its coffee.

How to get to Central Site Yeonnam and where to park

Central Site Yeonnam is 449m from Exit 3 of Hongik Univ. Station, so it is very easy to reach by public transport. There is no private parking lot, but there is a car park 1-2 minutes on foot, and it cost ₩700 per 10 minutes. It is open daily from 08:00 to 22:00.

I usually eat around the Yeonnam-dong maze alleys and the back-street restaurants near the now-vanished Dongjin Market, then walk over. If you drive, the nearby car park is handy. The spot where Dongjin Market used to be is a car park now.

Can you get a seat at Central Site Yeonnam right after weekday lunch?

Just after weekday lunch, the takeout line outside Central Site Yeonnam was quite long, but there was plenty of room inside. I happened to arrive right after office workers' lunch hour, so people were queuing for takeout. It isn't a budget coffee place, yet people line up for it at lunchtime. It made me think that a coffee spot that is picky about its beans is always noticed by customers first.

Luckily most of the people in line grabbed their coffee and left quickly, and I got a comfortable seat. On weekends, honestly, floors 1 to 3 are always full, so popular that I can't remember ever getting a seat. The lively weekend mood is nice, but on a weekday you can enjoy the aroma of specialty coffee properly and relax, so I strongly recommend going on a weekday if you can.

What each floor of Central Site Yeonnam feels like

Central Site Yeonnam uses the whole building from the 1st to the 3rd floor, so each floor has a different feel. The 1st floor is centered on a brewing bar where hand drip coffee is made, and the bright 2nd floor and the open rooftop seats are the most popular.

Central Site Yeonnam menu and tiramisu flavors

Central Site Yeonnam is a Yeonnam-dong café especially known for hand drip coffee and classic tiramisu, and the menu board right inside the door shows a varied specialty coffee lineup. The rare, high-quality single-origin lineup is updated every week, so you can try a new coffee every time you visit.

There are 4 kinds of tiramisu: classic, brownie, Lotus and strawberry. I prefer the most basic one, the classic!

Watching a hand drip at the 1st-floor brewing bar

After ordering, it was a big treat to watch the barista at the 1st-floor bar of Central Site Yeonnam carefully hand drip the coffee.

The steady stream of water, the precise extraction and the gentle scent of beans filling the shop really lifted my mood. After watching the brewing for a while, I went up to the 2nd floor to find a seat. Every time I came on a weekend date it was full and I had to leave disappointed, so the calm of a weekday was definitely nice.

The two brewed coffees I ordered on recommendation and a tiramisu with a gorgeous look were ready.

You don't need to go and pick them up: if you wait at your seat, the staff bring everything to you, which made it even more comfortable.

Best bean if you dislike acidity: Guatemala Entre Volcanes washed

Guatemala Entre Volcanes washed is the bean Central Site Yeonnam recommended when I said I wanted a rich, nutty, heavy brewed coffee. It had nutty flavors like dark chocolate and roasted nuts, a heavy body and a clean finish.

My younger sibling, who came with me, prefers rich, nutty flavors over acidity. The beans were Bourbon and Caturra varieties from San Miguel Dueñas in Antigua, Guatemala, processed by the washed method. The pleasantly heavy body that filled my mouth and the nutty flavor reminiscent of dark chocolate and roasted nuts were excellent. It was rich yet fell away cleanly, with no dryness left on the tongue, a classic coffee almost anyone would like.

Recommended for iced: Bolivia Cuatro Llamas Geisha pulse vacuum natural

Bolivia Cuatro Llamas Geisha pulse vacuum natural is the coffee I was recommended when I asked for the bean that tastes best iced, since the weather was hot. It had a clear floral aroma and fruity notes of peach and plum, and the acidity came across as the freshness and sweetness of ripe fruit.

I'm told this specialty bean was fermented for about 48 hours using a "pulse method": selected cherries go into a sealed tank and are repeatedly put under negative pressure, lower than the outside.

With the first sip, I nodded straight away, understanding why they recommended it iced. The bright floral fragrance and the complex fruity notes of peach and plum were very clear. Personally I'm strongly divided on sharp acidity, but here it blended the pleasant freshness and sweetness of ripe fruit, and I was a complete fan. The soft body and clean finish were really impressive.

What does the classic tiramisu at Central Site Yeonnam taste like?

The classic tiramisu is the signature item you absolutely must try at Central Site Yeonnam. They say it is based on an authentic Italian recipe once loved and often eaten by a former Gucci chairman.

Ironically, as tiramisu became a popular dessert, the overall quality dropped in quite a few places.

The tiramisu at Central Site Yeonnam is a truly handmade dessert, made in the shop with good ingredients and high quality. If you've ever been let down by the cheap cream taste typical of factory-made desserts, please try this one made properly with the authentic recipe.

The dense, rich cream and the espresso-soaked sheets go together wonderfully. They also grate a generous amount of high-quality chocolate on top, and the chocolate itself tastes so good that eating it with the cream was a huge synergy.

Paired with the strong brewed coffee, the luxurious taste melting in my mouth was fantastic.

Verdict on Central Site Yeonnam after a long-overdue Yeonnam-dong outing

On my first Yeonnam-dong outing in a long while, everything at Central Site Yeonnam was perfect: the excellent specialty coffee, the dessert made with an authentic recipe and the calm atmosphere. If you want proper brewed coffee and a handmade tiramisu that delights your mouth, I recommend stopping by this Yeonnam-dong café.