CoffeeGeek's own Beata Siwinski describes a recent journey back to her hometown of Warsaw, Poland, her search for the dream cafe and the perfect espresso.
harrymanback Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 214 Location: slo*cal Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: expobar brewtus ii Grinder: la cimbali md6, baratza... Drip: nah...bodum press(es) Roaster: modded wear•ever popcorn...
Posted Fri Aug 31, 2007, 8:55am Subject: Re: Coming Home to Coffee in Poland, The Cafe Stage
yay! an article by beata! i love your style. i think the 1930's was the pinnacle of design...and my girlfriend loves that china set. thanks for the great road notes!
harry.
"i should pull up the hardwood to see if there's carpet underneath! . . . no, that's never the case."
andreapiccolo Senior Member Joined: 2 Sep 2007 Posts: 1 Location: Vancouver Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Sep 2, 2007, 8:37pm Subject: Re: Coming Home to Coffee in Poland, The Cafe Stage
Beata - great article! I love road-trip stories, especially when the journey through a city or country includes a look at coffee culture. Thanks for including the history behind the cafes and cities... nice work!
Posted Tue Sep 4, 2007, 12:22pm Subject: Re: Coming Home to Coffee in Poland, The Cafe Stage
Thanks for the warm words! I had lots of fun visiting cafes in Poland and hopefully will inspire others to give us a glimpse into different cultures and their coffee :)
Here is another picture of that cute pottery from Krakow.
GandaClown7 Senior Member Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 7 Location: North of Boston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: *none* Grinder: Solis Maestro Plus Vac Pot: *none* Drip: *none* (French Press User) Roaster: Zach and Dani's
Posted Wed Sep 5, 2007, 4:58am Subject: Re: Coming Home to Coffee in Poland, The Cafe Stage
Beata,
Mieszkalem w polsce szesc lat. Tam byla, wtedy, jeszcze pustynia dla kawy. (Trans: I lived in Poland for six years. There was still a coffee desert there).
Even when I went back three years ago I had trouble finding descent coffee in Wroclaw. Next time rate those cafes! I'm glad to hear we have some hope of good coffee entering Poland.
Posted Wed Sep 12, 2007, 8:42am Subject: Re: Coming Home to Coffee in Poland, The Cafe Stage
In Warszawskie Stare Miasto there is a kawiarnia called "Pozegnanie z Afrike" or "Out of Africa".
The decor is fabulous, they even had a replica of the Hungarian single boiler 1960ies machine that almost amputated my aunt's finger when it exploded d/t to OP valve failure (but hey, in commie times a lot of things did that) , along with a lot of coffee memorabilia.
They sell "roasted" coffee, likely a few weeks old, as the Tschibo brand you buy at Geant makes a better crema on a Philips machine.
The "espresso" is also blonde and lacking in crema, but it has caffeine in it :)
Sorry, really, one has to go to Napoli and a few other places around EU to savor coffee.
If you are home roasting and HX agnostic, that may be the best coffee you had.
Love Poland, very nice people, had a great time. The deserts are fabulous and no severely obese Wal-Mart fatties around either :)
derailed Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 49 Location: UK Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: gaggia classic Grinder: innova i mini Roaster: heat gun dog bowl
Posted Fri Sep 21, 2007, 4:44pm Subject: Re: Coming Home to Coffee in Poland, The Cafe Stage
I lived in Krakow for almost 5 years. I roast my own coffee and have an imported Innova grinder. I have to say that the coffee scene is growing. Someone mentioned a cafe called Out of Africa- the reason the creme lacked was that they don't use freshly grounded coffee. Besides that its a sweet little cafe. There is a place on Bradzska street that has awesome lattes but I forgot the name. Also, you can go to a roaster on Karmalicka street 17 or 19. Its nice to hear about Krakow :) Awesome article!
Posted Sun Dec 30, 2007, 7:36pm Subject: Re: Coming Home to Coffee in Poland, The Cafe Stage
I visited Warsaw and Krakow this past September. Stumbling on "Pozegnanie z Afrike" in Krakow (then in Warsaw) was a happy surprise! Great atmosphere and after running out of the coffee I brought, I was happy to have a good pot!
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