Gwanghwamun café for a nutty latte on a dinner date: Center Coffee

Went to grab coffee with Bamtol after dinner, so we stopped by Center Coffee Gwanghwamun >.<

Center Coffee is well known for its coffee, so I'd been curious about it for a while, and since I was in Gwanghwamun anyway, I finally checked it out.

Where is Center Coffee Gwanghwamun, and what is the café like?

Center Coffee Gwanghwamun sits in the basement of Seoul Finance Center, so it was easier to get to than I expected, and being underground, it felt fairly calm despite being right in the middle of Gwanghwamun.

From real reviews, Center Coffee gets a lot of praise for its coffee itself, and it really felt like a café centered on specialty coffee. The menu had a huge variety of coffee types! They also had a handful of desserts, so for a little sugar boost, I picked one to try.

☕ The latte at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun: nutty and smooth

First, what I liked the most was the latte.

Personally, I prefer coffee that's nutty and smooth rather than heavily acidic, and this latte was exactly my style!!

From the very first sip, you could feel the milk's smoothness followed naturally by a nutty coffee flavor.

It wasn't just a bland milky latte either — the espresso's rich flavor backed it up just enough, so the balance overall was great.

What I especially liked was the subtle, nut-like nuttiness that lingered more and more toward the finish.

In one word: a smooth, nutty latte that's not overly sweet or heavy!

It made me think that at a real coffee specialty shop, you have to try the basic menu item. Haha.

🧊 How was the decaf cold brew?

We also ordered a decaf cold brew.

I expected the clean, calm taste typical of cold brew, but personally, the latte was way tastier than the cold brew that day.

Maybe because it was decaf, it was easy to drink without any worries and went down cleanly, but for my taste, it lacked a bit of that nutty, rich charm the latte had.

So if you're visiting Center Coffee for the first time, personally I'd recommend the latte over the cold brew.

If you like nutty, smooth coffee like I do, the latte will probably satisfy you more. 🤎

🍫 Dark chocolate baton financier: a little dry

And I picked out a dark chocolate baton financier to eat along with the coffee.

I expected the chocolate and financier combo to pair well with coffee, but when I ate it, it was overall a bit on the dry side.

I expected the typical financier texture — slightly crisp outside, moist and chewy inside — but it had less moisture than I thought!

There was a rich dark chocolate flavor, but personally, the texture was a bit disappointing to eat alongside coffee.

Since my expectations for Center Coffee's coffee were so high, the dessert felt relatively more disappointing by comparison.

The coffee was really good, but I don't think I'd pick the financier again. 😂

🤎 Is Center Coffee Gwanghwamun a good spot for coffee in Seoul?

Overall, the coffee was what stuck with me most about this café.

The latte was the nutty, smooth style I love, so it was quite satisfying, and the decaf cold brew was solid and easy to drink, but personally the latte won by a landslide!

True to the name Center Coffee, the coffee itself was definitely good, so I'll probably come back whenever I want good coffee in Gwanghwamun.

Next time, I think I'll order a latte without any hesitation. ☕️

Latte ★★★★★ / Decaf cold brew ★★★★☆ / Dark chocolate baton financier ★★☆☆☆

If you like coffee, it's worth stopping by once in Gwanghwamun!! That's it for today's fun date, Bamtol!