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Budapest · Hungary

Casino Mocca

Since 2013 · Lajos Horváth, Zoltán Kis, Szabolcs Temesvári

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Overview

Casino Mocca was founded in 2013 by three Hungarian competition baristas — Lajos Horváth (2013 World Cup Tasters Champion), Zoltán Kis (2012 World Cezve/Ibrik Champion) and Szabolcs Temesvári — who felt the country lacked a serious specialty roastery. They started the company as a side gig while keeping their day jobs and grew it into Hungary's defining new-wave roaster, supplying most of Budapest's third-wave cafés including Espresso Embassy.

Known for

  • Co-founder Lajos Horváth — 2013 World Cup Tasters Champion
  • Co-founder Zoltán Kis — 2012 SCAE World Cezve/Ibrik Champion (won using his own home-roasted coffee)
  • Hungary's first serious third-wave roastery; supplies the country's leading specialty cafés
  • 'Engineering mindset' approach — Kis's UX-engineering background applied to roast consistency
  • No own café — pure-play roastery wholesaling across Hungary and to a dozen-plus European markets

Why it matters

Casino Mocca is the reason Budapest has a specialty coffee scene at all. The trio's competition pedigree gave their roasts immediate credibility, and their decision to stay roastery-only (rather than open a flagship café) seeded a wholesale ecosystem of independent third-wave shops across the city.

Production

destoning
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head roaster
Zoltán Kis
color sorting
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roaster machine
Probat
filter equipment
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cupping frequency
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roastery location
Budapest, Hungary
espresso equipment
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annual volume tonnes
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Recognitions

  • Lajos Horváth — 2013 World Cup Tasters Champion
  • Zoltán Kis — 2012 SCAE World Cezve/Ibrik Champion

Sources

More roasters