According to
coffee aficionados Péter Balázsi and his wife, Dia, it is essential to have
things in life that make us feel enthusiastic. The couple have been working
with specialty coffee for almost ten years.
Part of their diverse activities is coffee tuition, providing cafés with barista training. They have their own roaster producing Racer Beans and even serve innovative soft-serve ice cream at the Bon Dia outlet.
Recently opened in the same building as the Meininger Hotel, accessed from the street and the garage, Coffee Works features a contemporary interior and a handy terrace where students and businessmen gather over laptops and cold brews.
Their classic specialty pick-me-up cold brew (HUF 1,250) takes some ten hours to make, the liquid from the Racer Beans dripping drop by drop from a huge cylinder. We tried this very strongly caffeinated drink without milk, just ice – at first, it had a rum flavour, then left a cocoa taste in our mouth.
Aussie cappuccino
With its rustic style and chocolaty aroma, our
favourite was the Aussie cappuccino for 840 forints. A classic La Marzocco
coffee machine makes the espresso shot for the drink, which is topped with
Australian hot chocolate powder, then the whole thing is covered with milk
foam. The results are chocolate drops soaking and bursting in the milk foam, which are not only delicious, but also fun to watch.
Another option, batch brew (HUF 800), is similar to Americano, but its taste is much more complex. Drinks may be accompanied by delicious pastries from the nearby Butter Brothers bakery.
Péter and Dia also feel it important to introduce new coffee-making techniques in convivial surroundings. Apart from an enthusiastic barista familiar with the latest technology, exciting, quality ingredients are put to good use with high-spec machinery.
Along with the beautiful
wood-lined coffee machine, the weird grinders, kitchen scales and timers, the brewing
methods and temperatures produce countless aromas within the same drink.
Given also
the evergreen recipes, the coffee here is consistent, your espresso or
cappuccino should taste exactly the same on Monday as it does on Friday.
If success comes from passion, then profit is also a consequence. If you pop in to Coffee Works, don’t expect just a plain caffeine dose, but let your imagination run wild and enjoy the different flavours of specialty coffee.
Venue information
Coffee Works
1093 Budapest, Csarnok tér 2
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 7.30am-5pm, Sat 8am-5pm
