At Hell Cafe, enclosed are stories of several now renowned baristas of Korea. Kwon Yo-seop, a first-generation hand-drip barista who is in charge of this place, an award-winning star barista Im Seong-eun and Lee Hun from a renowned shop — all with skills and drills have somehow deviated from the path of wealth and fame. Although the cafe has now a number of fanatic followers due to a lot of recent media exposures, it still is a micro-roastery sticking to Union fire roasting and putting out the best they've got for delicate details.
The most popular coffees here are the Hell Drip and the Classic Cappuccino. Extracted through a classic nel drip method, the Hell Drip is the long-time favorite of barista Kwon Yo-seop who used to reside in Gom Dabang, the old-time go-to place for Hongdae’s coffee aficionados. With 30 grams of beans, about 100ml of coffee is extracted — strong and potently fragrant, this supposedly “painful-like-hell” coffee presents beautiful notes in its corners. It can be made with a single-blend, but the dark roast blend is my recommendation.
The blended coffees here are brewed from a diverse selection of beans, with the rumor that even Geisha coffee (which is often referred to as “God in a cup”) is at times available. At first, one may wonder why the baristas here go above and beyond to stick to their strict philosophy, but after witnessing the the process of careful roasting and extraction, the wonder is well likely to turn into respect.
Next, the Classic