WIZZ MAGAZINE
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practisedandmostly learned fromour
mistakes. Soonwehadotherentrepre-
neursknockingatourdoor.Could they
start coffee shops, too? I support every-
onewhohasapassion forcoffee.”
Todayhe importsbeans fromall over
theworldand roasts them inanoff-site
factorywithanew15kg roaster. It’san
all-consuming job requiring full-time
staff.Healso supplies roastedbeans to
thegrowingnumberof independent cof-
fee shopspoppingupacross thecity.
“Wedidnotknowwhatwe started.We
didnotknowwhowouldcome.But they
came–withbicycles, tricycles, anddogs.
Theywere ITpeople, designers, fashion-
able,not so fashionable, all agesandall
cultures.Theybrought theenergy from
thecity streets intoourcoffee shops.”
Oneof thebaristasbuyingahealthy
supplyof roastedbeans fromOrigo is
VladPlăiașu, full-timeproprietorat
Dianei4– thecoffee ‘house’ Iwasheading
to in theearlymorningbefore Igot so
enjoyablydistracted.Thebuilding,which
alsoservedascityheadquarters for the
Romanian IntelligenceServicesuntil
2002, issomething tobehold.When
Plăiașustarted torenovate thebuilding in
2012he foundreceipts fromTheShop–
theoriginal cafe–under the floorboards.
Whenhestripped thepaint from thewalls
toredecoratehediscoveredstencilled
andhand-paintedwallpaper“thatmust
beat least 100yearsold”.Withsomuch
evidenceofhistoryon thewallshecare-
fullyconsidered thedecorating.
The look is ruggedand rusticbut
charming. I askPlăiașuwhyspecialist
coffee shopshavebecome sobig in
Bucharest. “Weexperienceda late rise
ofhipsters. In fact,wehad two recent
wavesofhipsters. It startedaround2010
with the ‘hippiehipsters’.Theyweresimply
anti-everything: anti-marketing, anti-es-
tablishment.Theywerehappy
Trya coffee
cocktail at home
TheBronxBomber
Ingredients - Adouble shot
of fine roasted espresso,
one shot of absinth, one
shot of gin.
Method
Mix all the ingredients
in a cocktail shakerwith
largeblocks of ice, shake
vigorously and strain into a
cocktail glass. Garnishwith
coffeegrounds.
Bucking the trendof serving locally
roasted coffee, Frudisiac sells cof-
fee roasted inStockholm
Frudisiac
