About Poppy Beans
What happens when, after years apart, a geologist, a civil engineer, an economist, and an IT specialist—all hailing from the same town in the foothills of the Beskydy Mountains—who share a passion for coffee, finally meet again? That’s how a bad joke might start—or perhaps our story. Perhaps fate or just chance brought these friends together after they returned from opposite corners of the world, so that, filled with inspiration and years of experience with specialty coffee from Australia and Britain, they could breathe life into an artisanal roastery with specialty coffee in the promised land and the city of unlimited possibilities.
We began searching for a space suitable for a café and roastery at the end of 2019, though the idea itself dates back a few years earlier, when one of the co-owners was working as a barista on the Gold Coast and the other two were beginning to discover the magic of specialty coffee in Edinburgh and Glasgow. We soon realized that combining a roasting space with an espresso bar wouldn’t be all that simple—hats off to QB in Brno and Nordbeans’ Dok in Liberec—but suitable locations were few and far between in Brno. After we purchased our first roasting machine in early 2020, a suitable space finally appeared in Brno in a historic building from the 1920s to set up our operation—at least partially according to our vision. However, the path to opening during the COVID era, combined with a complete renovation, was arduous; in July 2021, we launched full-scale operations. Even before opening the café, we realized that the capacity of the roasting machine (2 kg) would not be enough for us. After moving to our current space in Husovice, we purchased a Kuban machine in July 2021—a gas roaster with a capacity of 12 kg.
We draw on the Specialty Coffee Association methodology, Scott Rao’s books, our own experience, and especially open discussions with our partner roasters in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, whom we would like to thank. We are members of the SCA and hold certifications in sensory analysis and roasting skills (both at the foundation level). We participate in competitions and contribute to the development of specialty coffee culture in the Czech Republic.
- 2022 Czech Brewers Cup - 6th place - Patrik Záhora
- 2022 Brno Latte Art Throwdown - 3rd place - Jan Stuchlík
For each coffee, we select a roasting profile based on the individual parameters of each lot to highlight the unique flavor profile of each product, taking into account altitude, processing method, acidity, and sweetness. Daily quality control is a given—every batch undergoes a rigorous evaluation using the cupping process, during which we assess the coffee’s sensory characteristics according to the SCA protocol.
