Juyoung's Story
Juyoung and his partner Jeena are the founders of CAPPY, a specialty roastery and cafe in Seoul, South Korea.
Juyoung's entry into roasting was "second-hand," quite literally. While working at a roastery equipped with a 35kg Loring, roasting wasn't his primary job, but he regularly stepped in to lend a hand when the team needed help — informal assist runs that became his introduction to the craft.
Nordic Inspiration
Even behind the bar and away from the roaster itself, Juyoung's fascination with roasting never faded. During this time, he had the chance to work with leading Danish roasteries like La Cabra, and Coffee Collective, helping to bring their coffees to Korea.
The Nordic approach deeply inspired him — not just the light roasting styles, but the uncompromising focus on sourcing sustainable, high-quality green coffee and the pursuit of cup clarity that honors origin. Taste, space, and language were all connected through one consistent point of view.
During this time, he began sharing his journey in coffee more closely with a co-worker and kindred spirit, Jeena, and they eventually became business partners, with the goal of bring the Nordic philosophy to Seoul in their own way, with their own brand.
The Birth of CAPPY
> I'm not sure if it's the same everywhere, but in Korea, if you spend enough time working in coffee, people eventually ask, 'Do you want to start your own brand someday?' We never found it easy to say "yes."
Watching business owners they respected made Juyoung and Jeena realize the dedication and responsibility it takes to run a shop of your own. Still, they felt a strong pull to express what they cared about through coffee and share it with others. In the beginning, they described CAPPY not as a formal company, or even a cafe, but as a team. The name itself is a cheerful blend of "Coffee" and "Happy."
Roasting to Reveal
The birth of CAPPY naturally led to Juyoung getting to work behind the roaster. For each coffee, he looks for the roast that allows its acidity, sweetness, and texture to come through most clearly.
Some coffees are at their most vivid with a lighter roast, allowing their lively aromas and acidity to shine. Others need a little more heat before their sweetness and texture fully develop. As a result, most of CAPPY's coffees are omni-roasts that fall within the light to medium-light range.
He uses the Bullet to adjust the initial energy, airflow, and development time according to each batch of green coffee's characteristics. After every roast, Juyoung and Jeena cup together and compare sensory notes against logged roast curves to refine the next run — roast curves help them repeat what works, but taste always has the final say.
"The scale of the Bullet also suits the way we work. It allows us to move flexibly from testing a new coffee in small batches to producing coffee for our café and wholesale partners, all on the same roaster. The Bullet helps us ensure that a great result is not a one-time accident. It allows us to record, verify, and reproduce what we discover, making it a trusted roasting partner and, in many ways, a friend."
Chagyeong: "Borrowed Scenery"
CAPPY looks out onto Gyeongui Line Forest Park in Seoul. Built along a former railway line, the park is still relatively young: the full route was completed in 2016, making it just ten years old.
Over that time, its trees have grown and it has become part of the neighborhood’s everyday life. Today, walkers, commuters, local residents, and visitors all move along the same path. From inside CAPPY, customers can watch the trees and the people passing by.
Traditional Korean gardens use a practice called chagyeong, meaning “borrowed scenery.” It brings the landscape outside into the space, allowing an existing view to become part of the place rather than creating an artificial version of nature within it. At CAPPY, the forest path is not simply a backdrop. It has become part of the experience of drinking coffee there.
Resonating Across Borders
Today, CAPPY connects with people beyond Seoul through pop-ups in music, fashion, and food, creating new ways for people to discover specialty coffee. Coffee roasted on their Bullet now reaches customers as far as Montreal, New York, and Tokyo, served in ways that respond to a particular space or style of music.
In this way, CAPPY has taken Juyuong and Jeena on a global journey they are very happy to be a part of. Wherever you're from, if you ever find yourself in Seoul, be sure to look them up.