About Anthracite Coffee Roasters
Anthracite Coffee Roasters is a Seoul-based specialty roaster with origins in a repurposed factory in the Hapjeong neighborhood. The brand operates four locations in Seoul and one on Jeju Island, and has been featured by Sprudge for its industrial-conversion aesthetic and community role. Founder and founding year are not publicly documented.



About
Anthracite Coffee Roasters operates out of Seoul, South Korea, with its roots in the Hapjeong neighborhood where the company opened its first location inside a repurposed factory. The name gestures at coal — anthracite being the densest, highest-carbon grade — a fitting metaphor for a roaster that built its identity around industrial spaces transformed into serious coffee destinations. Founder and founding year are not publicly documented in available sources.
From that original Hapjeong factory, Anthracite expanded steadily across Seoul before crossing the strait to Jeju Island. As of recent reports, the brand runs four outlets in Seoul and one on Jeju, making it one of the more geographically distributed homegrown specialty roasters in South Korea. The Itaewon location became a neighborhood fixture, drawing both locals and travelers into what regulars describe as one of the city's go-to coffee destinations.
Anthracite's retail lineup spans blends, single-origin offerings, and cold brew, available through its online shop in 200g increments and larger bulk formats. A subscription program covers both blends and single origins. The website operates primarily in Korean and does not publicly detail sourcing partnerships or roast philosophy, so little can be confirmed about farm relationships or processing preferences beyond the product categories the company has chosen to emphasize.
In the Press
Third-party coverage of Anthracite Coffee Roasters.
- Sprudgesprudge.com/fuel-for-the-fire-at-seouls-anthracite-coffee-131393.html
- TripAdvisorwww.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g294197-d7834887-Reviews-Anthracite_Coffee_Roasters-Seoul.html
- Danielfooddiarydanielfooddiary.com/2019/08/13/anthracitecoffeeroasters
- Blogspothedonisthk.blogspot.com/2019/03/anthracite-coffee-roasters-top-coffee-shop-cafe-in-itaewon-seoul.html
Coffee & Beans Review
Anthracite earned a feature in Sprudge, which noted the brand's origins in a Hapjeong factory and characterized the cafe as fueling the surrounding neighborhood — a nod to both the name and the location's role as a gathering point. TripAdvisor reviewers have called it 'best coffee in Korea' and 'one of the best coffee' experiences in Seoul, though such superlatives carry limited critical weight on their own.
Visitors to the Seoul locations — particularly Hapjeong and Itaewon — can expect multi-story spaces that lean into the industrial-conversion aesthetic the brand established from its earliest days. According to travel coverage, the Hapjeong flagship spans multiple floors with a measured, spare atmosphere. The shop carries bagged retail coffee alongside cafe service, and an online subscription makes the roastery's blends and single origins available for home delivery across South Korea.
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