Blueprint for a thriving specialty coffee industry: Mihai Panfil, Origo Coffee

Andrew and Tibor caught up with the super-impressive Mihai Panfil, founder of Origo Coffee — one of Romania's most influential specialty coffee businesses, spanning two cafes, a roastery, and the experimental coffee brand - BrewZeus .

He's also the driving force behind the Coffee East Coffee Festival, which brings together over 60 roasters and 30,000 visitors each year in Bucharest. Few people have a better view of where Romanian coffee has been, and where it's going.

Some highlights -

From 0 to over 400 specialty cafes in 12 years

Cultivating a specialty industry

Backtracking from automation in favour of the customer experience.

There are lessons here for a global audience:

1. leadership and vision are needed for developing the industry

2. Continuous evolution and experimentation are requisites as the market and different forces shift

Origo Coffee

Linked IN

Coffee East coffee festival

Brew Zeus

takeaways

• Mihai Panfil founded Origo Coffee Roasters, a leading specialty coffee business in Romania.
• The Romanian coffee market was initially dominated by Italian-style cafes with limited options for specialty coffee.
• Mihai's experience at the World Barista Championship inspired him to create a unique coffee experience in Romania.
• The first Origo cafe focused on customer interaction and education about specialty coffee.
• COVID-19 shifted consumer behavior towards home coffee consumption and increased demand for quality coffee.
• The Coffee East Festival was created to celebrate and connect the coffee community in Romania and Eastern Europe.
• Mihai emphasizes the importance of collaboration and competition in developing the specialty coffee market.
• The coffee industry in Romania has seen significant growth, with over 400 coffee shops in Bucharest alone.
• Mihai believes that the future of coffee consumption may lean more towards home brewing.
• The success of coffee shops now relies heavily on unique concepts and customer experience.

keywords: Mihai Panfil, Origo Coffee Roasters, Romanian coffee culture, specialty coffee, Coffee East Festival, coffee industry challenges, COVID-19 impact, coffee roasting, coffee sourcing, coffee community