Update November 2017: Alver Lab is open again (no chance to check it out yet)
Update August 2017: Alver Lab is currently closed. The ‘normal’ Alver is open – but no pour-over there.
Following the original post:
Located in central Gangnam, Alver is not only a well-known destination for coffee-dwellers, but also just an impressively sized meeting space (for the lack of a better description):
Naver maps link: Alver
Google Maps:
It is humongous, spreading across three floors with probably 200, 300 or even 1 million seats:
Alver hosts a good variety of coffee specialties, and in their Alver Lab, things get more interesting: As of early November 2016 they had a slim but nice selection of roasts on the pour-over side of life (I prefer a chosen few to a flood of confusion):
Updated (menu as per late November):
Equipment-wise, V60s are the choice, supported by some pretty cool digital scale and timer all-in-one devices (anybody knows this model?):
I went for the Miralvalle, Guatemala. And the friendly barista took all his time and effort to make the best of it (and fortunately did not mind my annoying picture taking – I guess it is Korea after all; never too many pictures). Also as a side-note, beans are roasted in the UK.
I have to admit that I would probably not follow the recommendation again to go for the Miralvalle, as it was ‘balanced’ as promised, but I prefer a slight bit more acidity (and probably due to lack of taste buds couldn’t make out the pear really…). Regardless, a great afternoon coffee (and the smell of freshly baked cinnamon scones in the air definitely was a plus).
Alver is a great space to hang out and spend a lot of time, they have a tight but complete coffee menu, and they are in a very convenient location (close by Brickoven Pizza, Texas BBQ, Wagyu Burger, etc. literally right across the street)!
Just enjoyed two cups of Colombian coffee here, an Antioquia and a Huila. Both were superb but my recent favorite is the Huila for its acidity and sourness, from start to finish. The Antioquia was a perfect match for a classic “tinto” found on any corner in Colombia, smooth and nutty with no harsh bitterness.
The place itself was packed out and we nearly missed out as we didn’t realize the Lab was separate (and the main counter worker gave the X sold out sign). Fortunately after a stroll around the place we saw the Lab section on the way out and the barristas working, who were super nice (& spoke good English), poured us two cups!
That’s fantastic – we haven’t had a chance to visit after they had closed for a while but glad things are looking good there (again)!