Coffee Guide: Rozrusznik – Wroclaw

THE VISIT…

Poland is a country that has tight bonds with UK, as the story of Targowa taught us. This is the story of another coffee shop somewhat related to Bristol. Patryk is the owner of Rozrusznik, and has lived in Bristol with his friend… Filip. When he got back from his British adventure, he couldn’t resist but jump for the next: coffee adventure. However that adventure turned into multiple little adventures, from opening a coffee shop to roast coffee.

Because of all that, I was happy to see his message. Another Bristolian awaiting in Wroclaw. Hence, not long after, I found myself walking zig-zags around the river banks, swinging from one coffee shop to the next. So, it was the moment to cross the river again, because Rozrusznik sits in a very calm and quiet area of the city, relatively far from the centre. There, you would discover the old and the new Rozrusznik. The oldest Speciality Coffee Shop in Wroclaw that has just got a renovation treatment. With the brand new entourage, looks at you with its coffee-beaned eyes.

The interior is quite juvenile, with comfortable sofas and white walls wearing illustrations. Next to the counter, a turntable, all after jazz and reggae vynils. On one of those cosy armchairs, Patryk has awaiting me. After ordering an espresso roasted by himself, I took a seat next to him. And there, some more stories, waiting to be unfold. My inner historian shut me up, and made pay attention to his stream of thought. I listened stories of Bristol, and how Filip and he came back to Wroclaw after years. He also shared his impressions of people discouraging him from opening his café, dragging him down to thinkging that the time and location were wrong.

But Patryk did open it, and now he has not only a modern café but also the story. The story of tenacity and persistence in overcoming any obstacles put in the way. At the end of the day, he plumed for local economy and told me that to be one of the main reasons to open Rozrusznik in the first place. Listening to him, I couldn’t get it out of my mind, with a smile on my face – how Bristolian reflects all there is that matters here: local cummunity, independent culture, fair trade…

THE STORY…

We opened in May 2011 after one year of struggle with turning former lawnmower workshop into a coffee shop. However the whole story behind Rozrusznik (pacemaker) goes back as far as to 2003 when I arrived to Bristol for my very first time and found out about espresso based coffees. I also discovered those independent record stores and some had espresso machines there. That style of coffee shop seemed a perfect connection to me at that time, so my first idea was to open something like that in Wrocław.

Unfortunately time was passing by and I was doing something else. Suddenly, 6 years later I decided that it was time to go back to Wrocław as I wanted to open a proper independent espresso shop. I bought a second hand 3 group Astoria which I’m continuously using till now, grinder and turntable. My ticket back home was booked.

The main idea was to do everything DIY way on a low budget and not necessarily in city centre. All the struggle with creating my place was documented on my facebook profile, meanwhile I did some popups with coffee I found myself in a small roastery project. That was done near Wrocław and quite a big bunch of followers were awaiting the day we opened. To promote it, after the opening we did some short videos, with a help of a friend filmmaker and our customers. A series of workshops with third wave coffee pioneers from Kofeina Cafe was released too.

Coffee scene has changed a lot since we opened – good baristas and cafes are popping up, restaurants start to serve good espresso based beverages and filter coffees comparing to instant cappuccinos 5 years ago. We ‘re glad to be part of that process in Wrocław. Around eight to ten coffee buisnesses were started by our regular customers.

I’d really like to keep this coffee place local. We’re placed in a district that was revitalised in last years. It was a dodgy area and now looks vibrant and popular amongst citizens, even though it is not much commercialised and affected by a massive tourism. In the near future I’d like to roast my coffee on site. I did a pop up microroastery in a cargo container next to my shop last summer which was really cool and for sure I’ll go back to this idea asap.

MEET THE BARISTA… PATRYK K.

WHY DID YOU START TO MAKE COFFEE?

I started to make coffee in Wrocław because I couldn’t find any place with a decent coffee there. My first experience with coffee machine was in a Sicilian restaurant in Bristol. I did my first shot of espresso for an elder Sicilian chef – it was so small (espresso, not chef!), I decided to press the button again to fill the cup… I think I helped him to beat the Guinness Record of spitting distance with coffee…

WHAT IS ROZRUSZNIK FOR YOU?

This coffee shop is my second home and a dream that came true. It is my work place and a special place where everyday for almost 6 years I meet great people and do what I really like, which basically is brewing coffee and playing records.

GOOD EXPERIENCE, BAD EXPERIENCE AND AN ANECDOTE

Well there were so many funny situations. We actually were thinking about our own sit com, but what ‘s in my mind right now is about our homemade brownie. There was a stewardess one day ready for work and she got crazy about our brownie so she begged us for the recipe. There was no time to write it down so she forced us to send her an email. Obviously we forgot about it. Few months later she came back with her grandmother and shouted that she waited for that promised recipe and they won’t leave our place unless we write the famous recipe for them…

The worst experience was exactly a year ago, when our coffee machine came back from service and had a boiler failure overnight. Our place was flooded by hot water. I was devastated finding many of our memmorabilia that where kept in closet under the machine completely destroyed.

Best moments are when our neighbours, not necessarily our customers, make us feel, we’re part of their local community. That’s priceless.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COFFEE? HOW DO YOU LIKE IT BREWED?

On top of my list there will always be Ethiopia from Yirgacheffe region, mainly washed, but sometimes natural too, depends of my mood. Any method is good, when coffee is good innit?

OPENING TIMES:

• Monday-Friday: 7:30-21:00
• Saturday: 10:00-21:00

FOOD: Sandwiches, Cakes

VEGAN OPTIONS: YES

GLUTEN FREE OPTIONS: Yes

RETAIL OPTIONS:

• Coffee Beans
• Artwork

SEATING:

• Armchairs, chairs, sofas, stools.

WIFI: YES

ROASTERS:

• Main Roaster: Rozrusznik.
• Rotating roasters.

ESPRESSO: Two Single Origins.

FILTER: From Six to Eight Single Origins.

ALTERNATIVE MILKS:

• Soy Milk
• Rice Milk

COFFEE MACHINE: Three Groups CMA LISA

GRINDERS: Fiorenzato EVO64 and Brasilia RR45 for Espresso. Mahlkonig w1 for Filters.

FILTER BREWING METHODS:

• V60.
• Chemex.
• Aeropress.

COLD COFFEE OPTIONS:

• Cold Brew.
• Iced V60.
• Iced Aeropress.