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Copyrights © Ethnographic Museum Zagreb, Croatia, 2009. Photographs by Oleg Moskaljov

Let’s Have a Coffee

Views of Zagreb Entrepreneurs on the Culture of Coffee Consumption

Coffeehouses have an interesting history, dating back to the late 17^th century in many European cities. The first coffeehouse in Zagreb was established in 1749. The coffeehouses of Zagreb were modelled after West European, especially Viennese, coffeehouses, which was reflected primarily in their interior design, but also in the coffee offer. Since coffeehouses were associated with the bourgeois social class, they were being gradually closed by authorities during the socialist regime and used for other purposes. The decay of coffeehouses opened the way to the rise of a new form of space for coffee consumption - the café. It is therefore not surprising that cafés emerged among the first forms of private entrepreneurship at the time of socialism in the late 1970s. Many authors consider that, as opposed to the coffeehouse, which is a product of the bourgeois culture of European cities, cafés are autochthonous Croatian forms of sociability. They are not associated to the bourgeois social class, but to the urban space. Since the 1980s, cafés have developed into popular meeting-points of Zagrebers of all generations, especially the young.

In terms of history, the cafés of Zagreb can be observed from the aspect of institutions, their owners and their customers. To obtain relevant data about the culture of coffee consumption, the research was conducted by application of the interview method. We singled out the most interesting examples to illustrate the subject matter. It this, we found it important to capture opinions of entrepreneurs (café owners and coffee distributors) about the coffee consumption culture, their business innovativeness and creativity, their stories of success and failure, good and bad coffee, their approach to staff and customers. Since coffee plays a great social role in Croatia, we also found it very important to hear the opinions of their customers, to find out which is their favourite café and why, whether having a coffee is part of their lifestyle and what matters more to them - the quality of the coffee or everything else.

(All photos Copyrights © Ethnographic Museum Zagreb, Croatia, 2009. Photographs by Oleg Moskaljov)

Interview November 10 and November 19,  2009

„NO LOGO-JUST TASTE!”

Nik Orosi has been the owner of the „Elis” café in Zagreb’s popular Ilica street for three years. His life is dedicated to working with coffee and he has won numerous awards both in Croatia and abroad. He launched his own business after education at a barista academy in Italy, but he stresses that he learned most in some Scandinavian countries. He wanted to apply the knowledge acquired in his private business and offer his customers the best coffee worldwide. This is why the beverage card of his café contains nothing but coffee (various aromas and types of coffee served as beverage). Design is also extremely important to him, because he thinks that an exquisitely designed interior will attract a different clientele, people having money. He has organised his business in such way that he orders and buys coffee in London by himself, runs his own roastery and works as a distributor for a brand of (catering and household) coffee machines. He believes it is necessary to educate people about coffee, which is why he organises trainings for coffee aficionados (how to brew a good espresso at home) and waiter courses from the initial level to the barista level. He also supplies certain cafes in Zagreb with his coffee. Nik has his own web site and a blog where he wants to educate people about coffee and also tackle some of his problems.

„Coffee is the most important thing to me, this is why my favourite motto is: „Coffee is not only a physiological experience, but also aesthetic, social and intellectual”. My regular customers are coffee connoisseurs, they care about the taste, just like me. „No logo-just taste!”, this is what I offer in my café, as opposed to other cafés in Zagreb!”