Specialty coffee in Hungary

Specialty coffee in Hungary grew from Budapest in the early 2010s, when four-time national barista champion Attila Molnár opened Tamp & Pull in 2012. Hungary's coffee history runs from Ottoman-era black coffee through Habsburg milk coffees to the grand kávéház of late 19th-century Budapest. The specialty generation followed Tamp & Pull quickly: Tibor Várady opened Espresso Embassy in 2013, and homegrown roasters such as Casino Mocca began supplying the city's cafés. Around 170 specialty shops and roasters now operate across the country, and industry voices describe specialty coffee as the standard in Budapest rather than an exception.

Budapest holds the great majority of cafés and roasters. Outside the capital the scene is spread thinly: Pécs, Szeged, Eger and Győr have a few specialty cafés, while Sopron, Debrecen and Kecskemét each have a local roaster.

Roasters that shape Hungarian taste include Casino Mocca, Black Sheep Microroastery, Blue Bird Roastery, Old Man Coffee Roasters, 42 coffee roastery and One Eleven. Espresso still dominates by volume, but single origins and filter brewing have a growing following. Brunch is part of the scene too, at places such as Horizont. A high VAT rate means coffee is not as cheap as elsewhere in the region.