Coffee in Poland: cheap and undrinkable / expensive and good

actually the owner is a royal a hole, particularly from a business perspective. and for some people it matters that he is a jew. I don't care about that. I don't think the coffee is so great and I don't like that they keep their foods sitting out for hours without being refrigerated.

I like starbucks because you get a good sized coffee. I also like coffee heaven but I have found that they are becoming more like an american wannabe since they sold to the Brits.


this is poland- that is the only thing that matters- why people drive expensive cars and wear name brand clothing- so that people will notice them.

I like the taste of starbucks- i buy the whole bean and have a latte at home- but I also prefer very strong tasting coffee.

If you are in Warsaw there is an awesome place on Pulawska just past Plac Konst. called Esspressions. It is owned by an Italian who is also the cook. They have amazing pasta and sandwiches and of course the coffee is super. They also sell expresso makers from Italy for outrageous prices. There is also a small deli where you can buy Italian wines, meats and cheeses.

I'm also not a fan of the coffee at Green Coffee.


Er, it has always been British owned.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeeheaven

I thought the original start up was Polish and then they sold to Costa coffee. If I am wrong- let me just change my statement to say that I think the coffee has gone too American since the original owners sold out.

As far as I remember, the original people were two Brits and a Norwegian guy.

This article seems to at least partly support my memory: accountancyage.com/aa/feature/1767294/insider-profile-richard-worthington-coffeeheaven-founder

delph wrote:


besides the point. read what i wrote. the kids partying it up in the bars and clubs all don't have rich parents. they just like to get drunk. they also like to drink Starbucks coffee which costs just a couple more zl's than a beer at the bars.....only, they don't drink 5 at a time. beer however.....

delph wrote:


You can't live in Poland and post that.

There's a lot to be said for supporting locally owned companies. Karma in pl Zbawicela is also OK as is Cup of Pleasure on Nowy Swiat.

ok -so the founder was a brit living in poland who has since sold to costas- it was listed as a polish company owned by a brit- semanitics I know- but the point is that they changed ownership.

so we are both right.

The founders were two Brits and a Norwegian


That's owned by an American, isn't it?

A Mac is a type of a laptop Delphie , you know a notebook portable computer ;-) I know you meant it has to be a Mac specifically but they've been doin' the Starbucks thing way before Macs came out.

if that's the case, I rather have coffee there, then anywhere else.

Aphro, we have more in common than you may think :)

I like Inka, and it comes from Poland. Give it a try, if you can find it. I have to go to Chicago to get it, but it is worth the drive, and it is better for you, also.

Mike

Not actually coffee though.

You do realise that isn't actually coffee, don't you? It's a thing called Ersatzkaffee, invented by the Germans during the war. And which tastes disgusting. If you don't want caffeine, try decaff instead.

somtimes called 'childrens coffee' because (older) kids can drink it.


one can develop a taste for it and it's very cheap.

One could say the same about cherry wine but that doesn't mean it is in any way similar to wine (or cherries for that matter).

Kids (even young ones) can drink the real thing. A toddler might baulk at the thought of an espresso ristretto, but surely one of those dreadful latte things with all the milk would appeal.


The latter is undoubtedly true and the former is quite plausible given some of the foul concoctions on the market.

Not at all. The trick is to add about 20 spoonfuls of sugar (which gives the bonus of the adorable creature's parents having to deal with both a sugar rush and a caffeine buzz).

That's the kind of thing you do right at the end of the custody visit, just after buying the really loud toys.

When I was a kiddy I used to love Irish coffee - still do.

true, but in Poland it seems that coffee doesn't get introduced until one is a teenager. my teenage kids won't drink it though. they don't drink much tea either.

A few times Poles have told me that tea with milk is for kids. But in PL they make tea very weak anyway.

Also, I've known Poles who won't let their kids eat ice-cream - some nonsense about it being bad for the throat.

Back to coffee - have you tried Blikle black coffee sorbet? They do a chocolate sorbet too.

hahahaha, that should go under that "Polish Myths" thread. one of many funny Polish myths about health. they're convinced that drinking something too cold, especially in the winter, can give you a sore throat. man, if i had a nickel for every time i was told that. My grandmother used to say the same thing and she was from old school poland, i guess that's where today's generations get it from.

the only time i go posh is when waiting for a train at berlin hbf. but i still walk past starbucks to get to dunkin donuts.

maybe not so posh after all.

btw, the queue is always longer at starbucks so i guess they win the popularity stakes.

Blikle is a bit posh for me too. Though since a few years ago they were serving Mokate powdered cappucino, perhaps it isn't that posh at all. I suspect that woman who runs Mokate was giving them it free so the filthy muck was sen to be used there. On a warm summer day, it's nice to have an Ice Cream on Nowy Swiat, and they aren't much dearer than the others along there.

You may want to try buying coffee in bulk from one of those bulk-food stores like Selgros. In the States such places sell, for example, whole bean coffee from Starbucks but at a reduced price since you have to buy at least a kilo or two. I don't know if they sell decent coffee in bulk at Selgros, but it's worth a shot.

Both Selgros and Makro sell decent coffee beans in bulk. I haven't tried it from Selgros, but if I remember, Makro is really cheap and good. Buying online from Allegro can be a good bet too, if you like good coffee really cheap..

Merged: Coffee in Poland

Since I moved to Poland ages ago, I always have had an issue with coffee in Poland - not the Starbucks invasion, but the one you buy in the shop.

Or you have the cheap (and equally disgusting) Jacobs, Tchibo etc...or you have the idiotically expensive Lily, Lavazzo etc...
But there is nothing in between. I always stock up when I am back home in Belgium. Costs half price as compared to Poland, much better quality.

What types do you mean ?
I've never been a Starbucks fan - Esquires was my chain of choice in Van.

Merged: Le Grand - surpuisingly good Arabica for 6.75 zł

I rarely visit Biedronka but recently I picekd up a packet of Le Grand brand coffee (100% Arabica) for 6.75 a quarter-kilo. It was surprisingly good tasting for that price. My culinary guru has long been the late James Beard who taught that good food and drink need not be expensive and advised: "Always buy the cheapest wine YOU FIND ACCEPTABLE!" That anti-snobbery approach is right up my alley. Same goes for coffee, beer or most anything else. The frugal gioruzemt is a wise shopper who never overpays becuase something is trendy or has snob appeal.

In teh beer department, both Donner Premium (4% ABV @ 1.69 zł) and VIP (4.8% ABV @1.49) are quite decent brews for the price. But there's something called Sir Roger (in a red can) for 1.79 zł that's a real rot-gut swill.