Busan coffee shop: Aery

Aery was the first coffee shop I went to in South Korea, and it really set the bar high not just for Busan coffee shops, but for any coffee shop I went to in South Korea.

I can proudly say that Aery is the only coffee shop I’ve been to where I’ve finished my latte in one sitting. And it wasn’t just any latte…it was an unsweetened latte!

Aery brief background

Aery is located in southern Busan. There’s only one location.

Aery has two floors. The first floor is the coffee bar and main socializing area. It doesn’t have much seating. The second floor is quieter and has more seating.

A fun fact is that the barista won first place in the Korea National Barista competition and fifth place at the World Barista Championship. Super cool! I’ve never met a barista who has won such prestigious awards.

The guy was super nice too. He just had this calming aura. He and the other barista could speak decent English too. I had such a good time at the coffee shop that I had to take a picture with both of them!

Coffee drinks: 10/10

Aery’s coffee was absolutely fantastic.

To be quite honest, I really wanted to dock a point off because they didn’t have any sweetened lattes, but their café latte blew me out of the water, so that didn’t matter. The latte spoke for itself without the sweetener.

The milk was incredibly frothy, and the coffee wasn’t overly bitter, even though a dark roast blend was used. They use their own custom dark blend (beans are from Columbia and Brazil), and it had excellent and pronounced notes of dark chocolate, caramel, and roasted nuts.

Even the latte cup looked so pretty.

The head barista was also featuring his specialty championship coffee series. It’s his coffee that won him prestigious awards. He built his own setup that uses an internal vibration motor to do something special with the milk.

The only reason my friend and I didn’t get it was because it cost $18 USD. I could not justify paying $18 for a latte, but after having the normal café latte, I really wanted to go back and pay $18 to try his specialty coffee.

I should note though that he only sells 5 cups of his specialty coffee. So if you want a cup, you better go early!

Pastries: 8/10

They sell some pastries but not a lot. When we went, they had 4 different pastries. My friend and I got their Gateau Basque (you can see it in the coffee section picture). It was excellent! Super flaky and buttery.

Productivity: N/A

I didn’t get a chance to do a full study or journal session here, so I can’t give a proper productivity rating.

But first impressions? Aery doesn’t seem like a study spot. Most of the seating is designed more for enjoying your coffee and chatting rather than setting up a laptop.

The coffee bar seating area is limited, and the second floor, while quieter with more seating, doesn’t have study-friendly tables. I could maybe read there though.

I didn’t get a chance to test their Wi-Fi either.

Décor: 8/10

Aery has a minimal, modern, and open floor design. The shop sticks to a brown and white color scheme, with white primarily covering the counters, tabletops, and walls. The brown comes from the wooden furniture.

When you walk in, you’re immediately greeted by the open coffee bar. You can see everything going on behind the counter, which, in some way, felt very welcoming. Their workspace was also your space. Most of the coffee shops I’ve been to have their coffee bar closed off in a way, clearly separating the staff from the customers.

I really like how they have some seating right in front of the area where the barista work. You can sit there and watch them work. My friend went up to them several times to ask them about their coffee making process.

Here’s the second floor:

Accessibility: 10/10

I switched this section from ‘Parking’ to ‘Accessibility’ because every coffee shop I’ve visited in South Korea doesn’t have parking.

I’m rating this based on how easy it is to get there. Do you have to walk a lot from a bus or subway station? Is it easy to spot from the outside?

While Aery is located on a major street, it’s a bit tricky to find. I almost walked by it because I didn’t see the sign.

There’s a major bus stop close by and a subway entrance right in front of the coffee shop. So it is pretty easy to get to once you know what bus stop or subway stop to get off at!

I hope you enjoyed this coffee shop review of Aery.

I would definitely come back here to try their specialty competition series coffee and see what it’s like to study and journal here.

If you enjoyed Aery and are looking for other coffee shops in Busan, there’s another good one just around the corner from Aery! It’s called Yeongyeongjae. Once I have that review up, I’ll link it here!

I’m always looking for new coffee shops to explore, so if you want to recommend some in the Busan area or just in South Korea, please comment below!