Vedran Gulin

The first thing you notice arriving in downtown Zagreb is the endless rows of bars with terraces packed with people having coffee during the day – every day. If you, like myself, are a picky sort of coffee drinker, this seems like a dream. But it’s not quite what you expect. Finding a decent cappuccino or a perfect flat white is possible, but will require a bit of insight and some walking around. The majority of bars and coffee shops treat coffee like a social occasion with a high return on investment. Signing a contract with a corporate brand brings in the beans – and discounts on them, free equipment and cash advances to the extent where the product itself looses importance. Most of these cafes use dark roasted bitter blends and put little skill into the preparation of milk and other important details. Nevertheless, great coffee is here in Zagreb and these are the specialty coffee places you should visit:       Eli's Cafe, Ilica 63 Nik Oroši, four time barista champion of Croatia, recently moved his roasting equipment into this small space that has quickly gained a cult following. Here you can see the magic happening and enjoy the seasonal blends as well as single origin cups that started the regional specialty coffee revolution.         Express bar, Petrinjska 4 The number one open air coffee location very near the main square with consistent quality and great variety of preparation methods.         42 Coffee Co, Vlaška 42 The youngest specialty coffee place of them all