Yangjae AT Center café in Seoul: Balance-bean Americano at Mini Male

I heard the coffee was great at a café near Yangjae Citizen's Forest and the Yangjae AT Center, so I stopped by. Mini Male Coffee Roasters has branches all over Seoul, but this is actually the main branch, right here by Yangjae Citizen's Forest, haha.

Mini Male Coffee Roasters Yangjae: hours and parking

• ⏰ Hours: Weekdays 08:00–20:00 / Weekends 09:00–20:00
• 🚘 Parking: No lot, paid public parking nearby

What the seating inside Mini Male is like

Mini Male Coffee Roasters Yangjae Main Branch is a cozy-sized spot, but seats never stayed empty for long — customers kept streaming in. A lot of people ended up taking their drinks to go since there was nowhere to sit.

Choosing from three coffee beans at Mini Male

Mini Male Coffee Roasters menu and prices

Mini Male Coffee Roasters offers three bean profiles they've researched and developed themselves — Balance, Dunkel, and Decaf. Beyond the basic coffee lineup, there's a range of distinctive lattes, cold brew, and non-coffee drinks too.

Bakery menu at Mini Male Yangjae

Walking in, there was a lovely smell of fresh bread — the cookies and bakery items are baked fresh every morning, and there was a good variety. You can pick your own from the display case next to the counter, right beside the beans for sale.

The bread looked amazing, but I went around 2pm on a weekend and most of the bakery items were already sold out — a bit disappointing. On the plus side, the financiers kept coming out fresh from the oven, haha.

Beans and cold brew you can take home

Coffee beans for sale at Mini Male

The beans are sold portioned by type, and also as drip bags. The coffee is good enough that plenty of customers come specifically to buy Mini Male Coffee Roasters Yangjae Main Branch's beans.

I thought it was just beans, but looking under the counter I noticed they also sell cold brew, haha. The beans come in three types — Dunkel, Ethiopia, and Decaf. It was nice that cold brew was also available ready-made for convenience.

The drinks and dessert I ordered

I ordered one Helsinki Latte — the signature menu with its own recipe interpretation — and one Americano with Balance beans, plus a handmade New York cookie (original levain) for dessert!

Helsinki Latte with Dunkel beans

This is the Helsinki Latte, practically the symbol of Mini Male Coffee Roasters! The owner reinterpreted this rich latte after being inspired by one they drank while traveling in Northern Europe. You can choose the beans for the Helsinki Latte too, and I went with the recommended Dunkel.

Subtly sweet with a rich milk flavor, combined with Mini Male's beans, it made for a nutty, fragrant latte. Smooth and easy to drink without feeling heavy — I get why it's a popular signature, haha.

Americano with Balance beans

For the Americano, I chose the Balance beans. You can pick from Balance, Dunkel, or Decaf for the Americano, and since I like acidity, I went with Balance. The fresh, fruity acidity balanced with a slight sweetness made for a clean, delicious cup, as expected!

Handmade New York cookie (original levain)

This is the thick handmade New York-style original levain cookie. It's individually packaged, so it's easy to grab one, and when I said I'd eat it there, they plated it for me. Packed with dark chocolate chips and walnuts, it was a soft, moist levain cookie with plenty of chewy texture too.

The rich, sweet dark chocolate paired with nutty walnuts made for just the right amount of sweetness to go with coffee. By the way, you get a discount when you buy 5 levain cookies, haha.

Worth it if you want good coffee near Yangjae Citizen's Forest

The signature Helsinki Latte was delicious, and the Americano with its choice of beans was great too — this was Mini Male Coffee Roasters Yangjae Main Branch, a coffee spot in Yangjae. Both the coffee and the desserts are excellent, so if you're looking for a café in Yangjae-dong or near Yangjae Citizen's Forest, I recommend this main branch!