IDEAS
>
BUCHAREST
68
/
WIZZ MAGAZINE
B
ack in the1980s, a longqueue
indowntownBucharestusually
indicated that somethingof valuewas
for sale, possibly somethingas luxurious
ascoffee.Back thenmostpeopledidn’t
havemuch luckgetting theirhandson
such things.Oneof theonlyplacesyou
could findavarietyof cigarettesand
coffeewouldbeat a largehouse located
atStradaDianei 4 incentralBucharest,
whichwasknown simplyas ‘TheShop’.
But tobeallowed tobuy fromTheShop
youneeded tobea foreigndiplomat
holdinga foreignpassport, orbevery
well connected.
I’monmyway toDianei 4shortly
after8am,when I seeaqueue. It runs
along the street across the road from
myoriginal destination.Outside the
tiny shop thecheerful grouppatiently
waits toenter thepremises,whichare
no larger thana singlegarage.The sign
above thedoor reads:T-ZeroSpeciality
CoffeeShop. I takemyplace in thequeue.
When I eventually reach the front, owner
and full-timebaristaCipCosmaproudly
servesmeanespresso.
“The steamingwater interactswith the
groundcoffee foronly29 seconds,”he
says. “Noneed toworryabout toomuch
caffeine.What youget isonly thebest
oils, aromasandagreat taste.”While I
savourbrewafterbrew,we talkabout the
suddendemand for specialist coffee in
“Noneed toworryabout
toomuchcaffeine.What
youget isonly thebestoils,
aromasandagreat taste”
Espresso yourself
Brewmaster CipCosmaof T-Zero
stands outside the shop clutching
an espresso (above left)
Where steamingwater interacts
with theground coffee for only 29
seconds for theperfect cup
T-Zero
