Danyang café with banana and strawberry garlic affogato: JB Coffee

Found JB Coffee while traveling in Danyang! Since I was traveling, I wanted somewhere with more local character than just regular coffee. I heard there was a café that turned Danyang's famous black garlic into a garlic-shaped bingsu (shaved ice dessert), so I went to check it out 〰️ It really did look like garlic, and you could pick from three flavors, so it was a feast for the eyes and the taste buds — this was JB Coffee in Danyang.

JB Coffee

What kind of café is JB Coffee in Danyang?

I went looking for JB Coffee in Danyang because I'd heard about their garlic-shaped affogato. It's on Byeolgok 12-gil in Danyang-eup, and it's a café that expresses Danyang's local identity — famous for black garlic — through dessert.

As soon as we walked in, cute little props and figures greeted us. Even though I'm not really a figure collector, I still found it fun to look around. It seemed like the place had appeared on various shows, so I felt like I'd found a proper Danyang coffee spot.

Maneul-injul-arattanyang: why two orders instead of three

This is the menu at JB Coffee in Danyang. There were plenty of other menu items, but since we were traveling in Danyang, we decided to order the signature dessert that captures the local flavor — Maneul-injul-arattanyang, the garlic-shaped affogato. We wanted to order all three, but the owner mentioned they're all shots, meaning a lot of caffeine, so we cut it down to two. My partner and I each picked a different flavor — banana and strawberry.

First floor or second floor at JB Coffee, and is it kid-friendly?

There was a large figure on the first floor, so we took a quick look and then headed up to the second floor.

The second floor had more varied and more spacious seating. There were also more figures and shoes on display, so we decided to sit up there.

They even had a baby chair set up, and baby wet wipes ready to go along with it — you could really feel the owner's thoughtfulness.

Figurines and limited-edition sneakers on the second floor

Before our order arrived, we looked around at the figures, and there were a lot of surprising pieces. Since they're expensive figures, you weren't allowed to touch them, only look — and since it was my first time seeing so many figures in one place, it was fascinating. The owner had also collected Nike sneakers, what looked like special limited-edition designs. It was a space that showed off the owner's impressive hobby.

How to eat the garlic-shaped affogato, and how it tastes

Soon our order arrived — the Maneul-injul-arattanyang garlic-shaped affogato dessert. The colors, pink and yellow, were pretty, but what really got me was how closely the shape resembled an actual garlic bulb.

They served an espresso shot on the side, which you pour over the ice cream. When eating the ice cream, you're supposed to hold it steady with something like a fork so it doesn't move around.

The garlic-shaped ice cream was so cute and unusual that pouring the shot over it felt like a bit of a waste, but since it's an affogato, I poured it anyway. I was worried the ice cream might melt right away, but the shape held up well.

Once it melted nicely into the shot, I scooped some up to try — the strawberry flavor had a light, sweet strawberry taste, and the banana flavor had a rising banana aroma, and both paired really well with the espresso.

The garlic-shaped white chocolate hidden at the bottom

At the bottom was a garlic-shaped chocolate that I nearly mistook for the real thing. It was white chocolate — the owner had told us about it beforehand, so I expected it, but seeing it in person, it looked so much like actual garlic that it was still surprising haha. Getting to enjoy an affogato with the shot poured over the ice cream, and then finishing off with a sweet garlic-shaped chocolate, felt like the perfect dessert. When traveling in Danyang, good restaurants matter, but so do good cafés — I'd recommend this one to anyone looking for Danyang's own unique coffee dessert 💪