If you follow our social feeds you’ll have seen us out at the World of Coffee event in Budapest a few weeks ago.
We had a blast brewing and serving our Kayon Mountain coffee on the Hario brew bar for the duration of the event, and it was great to meet so many roasters, cafe owners, baristas and coffee lovers and watch the competitions that were taking place.
Special thanks go out to the volunteers and staff on the brew bar – especially Irina, Susie and Mike – who worked their socks off for the whole three days and made sure all the coffee served was on point.
Some of our highlights from the show included a demo of an automatic Eversys machine that was churning out excellent shots of espresso, watching our friend Petra from Industra Coffee come an awesome sixth in the World Brewers Cup and tasting some excellent coffee from Coffee Collective, Taf and Koppi.
Spending a few days in Budapest also gave us the chance to call in at a couple of our wholesale accounts in the city.
Dose Espresso
Dose is one of our newest wholesale accounts and is located in the city centre, just around the corner from Budapest coffee grandees Espresso Embassy.
Sleek black and stone decor give the cafe a tidy, urban feel befitting of its downtown location and the gorgeously sleek Slayer Espresso machine behind the bar. Unusually, one wall is dominated by a floor to ceiling image of the British Houses of Parliament, as viewed from across the Thames, which brought an unexpected smile to our faces.
A choice of three espresso beans were on offer when we arrived, and a couple of Square Mile filter options too. We loyally plumped for a Red Brick flat white and a Kalita brewed Sitio Tira o Zoio filter coffee.
While there, it was a pleasure to settle down into the deep, comfortable seats and finally chat face to face with head barista Ãdám Nagy who’s used our beans for a number of Hungarian brewing competitions, most recently taking our Kibingo to the Hungarian National Brewers Cup earlier this year.
Butter Brothers
A schlep across town, staying east of the river, brought us to our second wholesale account in the city ”“ Butter Brothers cafe and bakery.
The bakery looks unassuming from the exterior. It’s hunkered down on the ground floor of a faceless, Soviet-style block, the likes of which are ten-a-penny in Budapest, and signage outside is minimal. Despite this though, the place was packed when we arrived, proof that the welcoming smell of freshly baked pastries will do more to fill a cafe than a gaudy sign ever would.
Once inside and at the counter we ordered a flat white, an espresso and two of the chocolate swirl pastries that we’d been recommended by Ãdám at Dose earlier in the day when we mentioned we’d be heading here. Indeed, Ãdám called the swirls out as the best in the city, but honestly, we’d say they were one of the best chocolate pastries we’d had anywhere. Ever.
Dark, slightly burnt and caramelised chocolate wrapped in delicate, still warm, flaky, buttery pastry. We were in heaven, and the pastries went down a treat coupled with the smooth, rich coffee too.
While chatting with owner Lazlo, he mentioned that the team at Butter Brothers are very proud of their milk, which they get from their own herd of 40 cattle that they graze on semi-wild land, just a short drive from the city.
Steamed and blended with our Red Brick espresso, it was delicious, but getting to try the milk on its own really highlighted the quality of it. It was thick – almost like a yoghurt drink – with lovely white chocolate and cookie dough flavours.
Sadly, we couldn’t fit any more pastries in before we had to head back to the stand at World of Coffee but at least knowing they are there gives us a reason to head back sometime.
See everyone at World of Coffee 2018 next year!
Dose Espresso
Budapest, HercegprÃmás u. 21, 1051 Hungary
@doseespressobudapest
Butter Brothers
Budapest, Lónyay u. 22, 1093 Hungary
@butterbrothers
