Seoul · South Korea
Anthracite Coffee Roasters
Anthracite Coffee Roasters is one of 4 Seoul roasters tracked on day9, in Mapo-gu.
Since 2009 · Anthracite Coffee founding team (founding member: Hyun Ju Bang)
Overview
Anthracite Coffee opened in 2009 in Hapjeong-dong, Seoul, in a converted abandoned shoe factory — the original founder having returned to Korea after studying music and philosophy in New York and wanting to bring an industrial-chic café aesthetic, then almost unknown in Seoul, back home. The Hapjeong space — concrete walls, exposed beams, a converted factory conveyor belt now used as the pour-over bar — became the visual template that much of Korean third-wave coffee subsequently followed. Coffees are named for writers and artists rather than origins, and the company is unusual among specialty operators in deliberately stocking commercial-grade alongside specialty beans, on the principle that quality at lower price points is also worth defending.
Known for
- Founded 2009 in Hapjeong-dong, Seoul — in a converted shoe factory
- Six locations: 5 in Seoul (Hapjeong, Hannam, Seogyo, Yeonhui, plus one) and one on Jeju Island
- Coffees named after writers and artists — Natsume Sōseki, Pablo Neruda etc., not by origin
- Stocks commercial-grade coffees deliberately alongside specialty, an unusual position for a third-wave operator
- Open public cupping class at the Hannam location every Wednesday evening
Why it matters
Anthracite is the design template for Korean specialty coffee — the converted-industrial-space aesthetic that Seoul cafés have copied for fifteen years started in their Hapjeong shoe factory. Their position on commercial coffee is the more interesting one: alone among major Korean specialty roasters, they argue good quality at the cheaper end of the market is part of the work, not a compromise of it.
Production
- filter equipment
- pour-over bar (originally a shoe-factory conveyor belt)
- cupping frequency
- weekly public cupping classes (Hannam)
- roastery location
- Hapjeong-dong, Seoul
Café
10 Tojeong-ro 5-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul (Hapjeong original)