SANS is a cafe in Seoul that serves coffee without caffeine and desserts without sugar, intending to eliminate traditional coffee’s adverse effects on the environment and health.
SANS, which means ‘without’ in French, doesn’t simply serve decaffeinated coffee. It’s actually coffee made without coffee beans. Instead, they use a blend of 12 carefully selected natural ingredients, such as orange and hibiscus, to replicate the taste of coffee.
Alternative Coffee in Korea
According to SANS, they are the world’s first wellness alternative coffee that maintains the taste and essence of coffee no comprises.
Their menu includes a Signature Cream section with drinks like a Tiramisu Cream Latte (6,800won) and a Banana Cream Latte (6,800won). They also offer drinks like a Sans-Americano (4,500won), a Sans-Latte (5,500won), and a Sans-Vanilla Latte (5,800won).
And yes, all their drinks have no caffeine in them, so even if you’re sensitive to coffee or are at your 3rd cup of the day – you’d have no problem.
I tried the Energy Cream Latte (6,500won), which is topped with pistachio cream and freeze-dried strawberries. I was really impressed, as it tasted exactly like a normal cup of coffee.
The strawberry and pistachio cream combination was nice, but I found the cream slightly more towards Chinese almond than Pistachio.
No Sugar Desserts
Staying true to their brand, the desserts here have no sugar in them as well. They are crafted using SANS’s exclusive base, and you’ll find items like a Blueberry Tiramisu (12,000won), an Original Banana Cream Pudding (8,000won) and Chocolate Banana Cream Pudding (8,500won).
I opted for the Original Tiramisu (11,000won), which is apparently the world’s first tiramisu without caffeine or sugar.
Similar to the drink I had, I was quite surprised and impressed because if you had not told me this had zero caffeine and zero sugar, I wouldn’t have known. The bitterness from the cocoa powder balances well with the “coffee”, and it just felt like a decent portion of tiramisu.
Unique Cafe in Seoul
I was honestly quite impressed with how they executed their vision of zero caffeine and zero sugar. When it comes to zero-related food, places tend to compromise on taste. However, the ones here at SANS tasted like the food at your usual cafes.
Apparently, if traditional coffee were fully replaced with SANS, the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest caused by coffee production could be preserved by up to 87%. I don’t think this is a possible feat, but it’s a nice direction to take.
SANS (산스)
서울 종로구 수표로28길 30
30 Supyu-ro 28-gil, Jongro-gu, Seoul
Mon-Sun, 10am-7pm
Nearest Subway: Jongro-3-ga Station (Line 1, 3, 5), Exit 6
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*This was an independent review by MiddleClass
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