Why should someone visit JAVA CAFE SPECIALTY ROASTERS and what can they expect?

Joy in your cup. All our drinks, sandwiches, and bakes are made from high-quality ingredients with zero compromise. The beans are fresh roasted and delivered straight from JAVA’s roast room in the North of Warsaw. We have three single origin batch brews to choose from and three single origins for espresso, including decaf. You have a wide selection of very tasty dairy alternative drinks. Sandwiches and bakes are a challenge, but generally, our prices are kept as low as we can, given the high bar on quality so that everyone can enjoy. We are inclusive, not exclusive. We always have the latest single origin beans (fresh roasted) in 250/500/1000 gram bags for the coffee lovers who want delicious coffee for the office or home. The JAVA CAFE is located at the entrance of Fabryka Norblin’s BioBazar, where you will find a wide selection of mostly ecological products in a huge, beautiful red brick industrial hall. We are proud to work with the traders within BioBazar; this is the community we very much belong to.

Why are you so passionate about fresh roasted arabica coffee and specifically single origin specialty?

Single origin specialty coffee, when roasted expertly (it’s complicated; each single origin has its own unique roast profile to unlock the optimum flavor), used fresh and brewed well, is a joyful taste experience bursting with rich notes and aromas. Everyone should have access to this experience, everywhere, any morning; it is a right! At JAVA, the micro-lot farmers are our heroes while they struggle to produce these wonderful beans with inflation, skyrocketing production costs, and crop loss as a result of climate change. JAVA pays these farmers prices far above the current Fairtrade price for arabica. We do not do Fairtrade coffee; we do fairly traded coffee. Flavor profiles range from chocolate, nutty, and fruity/fruity floral. It is very similar to fine wine in many ways

What are the challenges in operating a cafe post-pandemic and amidst a cost of living crisis?

What can I say? If there is an independent cafe near you, support them. It really is “buy local or bye bye local.” Independent cafes compete with chains by compensating for their location with higher quality/fresher food and drink on the menus. Challenges are common to all operators: higher rents, demands on payroll, finding the staff, high energy, and food costs. To operators, we recommend reducing the menu and focusing on the most popular drinks/plates, doing it well, and being creative. The challenge is to lead with quality and be consistent to attract a loyal following. Social media need not be complicated; post daily what is new, what is happening. It has never been tougher for an owner/manager, but not impossible.

What is the crossover between your coffee offerings and other drinks?

We like to explore the boundaries of taste with new ingredients or cook up great recipes. For example, we import a cascara concentrate which we use in our drinks; cascara is the fleshy fruit around the coffee bean and has a very pleasing, unique taste. We have an espresso lemonade using a delicious fizzy drink made from Sicilian lemons, low in sugar. We have a roasted pistachio latte and a drink from sea buckthorn infusion (it’s delicious and keeps the doctor away). We have nitro, both specialty coffee and SUKI Tea versions. We also make a matcha vanilla drink with a raspberry puree twist. To attract an evening crowd, we are launching a “dry” bar with mocktails. We have conjured up a delicious virgin espresso martini, a herbal G&T, and a drink containing yuzu and cucumber. Most of the ingredients, including the delicious cascara concentrate, can be found on our store www.javacoffee.pl. If you are a coffee lover, do take a look at our coffee subscription, catering to those who never want to run out of fresh roasted coffee.

How are you tackling sustainability and the use of single-use plastics? 

We gift 1 PLN if the customer brings their own cup (clean, please). Beans destined for drinks are transported in food-safe containers; we have avoided wasting thousands of bags. Deliveries are made in reusable collapsible boxes; we have avoided wasting thousands of cardboard boxes. We are desperately searching for the plastic-free all-paper cup that M&S has just introduced; we are also looking at alternatives like cuploop.com.

Are there any plans for expansion?

No, don’t get me wrong; it is full-on hospitality, and we love delighting our customers, but it is a huge amount of work for us to maintain the high standards that we have. We are repeatedly asked to franchise the model, but it is not a good idea. There are too many challenges to overcome. First among them is always keeping the beans fresh and constant training/retraining and retaining staff. So this is it; all our positive energy goes into one location, and you feel it. Our customers love it.

From Chain to Craft

The Evolution of JAVA CAFE SPECIALTY ROASTERS

JAVA began roasting specialty coffee in 2001, at a time when locally fresh roasted, high-quality arabica was not available. JAVA started as a chain before the arrival of Starbucks, Coffee Heaven (now Costa), or Green Caffe Nero. In 2003, JAVA closed its cafes and shifted focus solely to providing independent cafes with freshly roasted, high-grade, delicious coffee. We were resource-constrained and too busy to adopt e-commerce; COVID forced our hand, and retail e-commerce is now a very important channel for JAVA. In October 2013, we introduced the JAVA Pop Up concept, now called CAFE, to BioBazar situated in Fabryka Norblin before it was developed. It was a unique place surrounded by metal from a bygone era.

The Pop Up served JAVA as our city center front desk to showcase our craft. We started with just 5 square meters, offering only beans and alternative batch brewing, without running water or heating, and with pigeons overhead making their presence felt in quite an unwelcome manner! We now have an eye-popping CAFE with all the latest equipment and delicious ingredients situated at the entrance to BioBazar close to Ul. Lucka. JAVA CAFE SPECIALTY ROASTERS

JAVA CAFE SPECIALTY ROASTERS
Entrance to Fabryka Norblin BioBazar, Żelazna 51/53,
Hours: Mon – Sat 7:30-20:30, Sunday 9:00-18:00
Website : www.javacoffee.pl

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