Who is Mugur Tureschi by profession? 

After graduating from "Andrei Șaguna" National High School in Brașov, I attended the Faculty of Physics at the University of Bucharest. Because of my needs and the fact that many of the experimental laboratories were equipped with obsolete equipment, plus the students were left on their own for hours on end, I decided to enter the field of work in my second year of studies. So, I started working in construction, specifically in waterproofing for terraces and waterproofing of concrete or masonry structures.

What inspired you to open the "Croitoria de cafea" and dedicate yourself to roasting specialty coffee?

It all started with fulfilling a need we acquired while still in Bucharest, having returned with the birth of our daughter back to Brașov in 2015. There, we met a fascinating character, Haig Keskerian, an old man passionate about roasting Colombian coffee in a red kiosk near the 1 Mai Square. Admirable, at the age of 92, he was roasting coffee on a roaster he built himself. Buying and brewing on a super-automatic espresso machine at home, coffee shops were not like mushrooms after the rain, only a few here and there had sprung up. We also procure cardboard cups from the superkmarket and curiously, in 2013-2014, as it was then we shocked both neighbors and colleagues, how and where we got our morning brewed coffee in such... cardboard cup. The recipe was simple, it just had to be put into practice. Back in Brașov, as I said, I didn't find the same flavor in the freshly roasted local coffee, so on one of my car trips to Bucharest, I found a Turkish coffee roaster for sale on the classified website, tangent to my road, in Ploiești, in a former puff pastry factory. Said and done, I hastily called and scheduled a viewing of the machine the same evening I found it. A week later, it was already in the cubicle of the block where I was already renting in Brașov. Looking for a space to set up a café, as I had seen abroad and in Bucharest, I found a former tailor's shop neither in the center of Brașov nor outside it. It is in that area that the "belly of the market" begins, on 17 Iuliu Maniu Street.

How did this journey start, and where did you learn the secrets of coffee? 

The road started immediately after setting up the space with the roasting samples, it didn't all come out right the first time, but the more I practiced, the better the product, the more skilled I became at roasting coffee. I confess, the passion for cooking that helped me on this coffee roasting journey, I see the two activities as somewhat similar, it's all about temperature control.

Why the name "Croitoria de cafea"?

As I said before, the café is housed in a former tailor's shop, which is why we decided to preserve some of the spirit of the place and make it as rich as possible for the future. We opened two other coffee shops, "Nola coffeeshop" and "guM", the first one more than 6 years ago, near the Black Church and Sforii Street in the center of Brașov and "guM", the latest addition to the Tureschi family of coffee shops, we positioned it at 2A Berzei Street - corner with Calea București, in a residential area totally unexploited in the coffee-shop/coffee-to-go segment, being more offices and bets around us. Our guests have proven to be curious and open to our proposals, so we are successful with every open door.

How have you created an atmosphere in the "Croitoria de cafea" to give guests an authentic and enjoyable experience? Is there anything left of the former tailoring decor? 

The interior design was made by my high school classmate Ana-Maria Voinescu, who was very inspiring in all 3 projects we did together. From the tailor's shop there is still the bar on which the tailoring patterns were hung and the old mirror, now put on display on the way to the toilet.

How has the place evolved since it opened? Have there been any significant moments along the way?

I started in the first month with about 10kg of roasted coffee and have grown to over 800kg in good months. The time with a considerable impact was the pandemic, we didn't benefit from state aid and we were forced to keep the prairies closed to guests. We backed up our enthusiasm with couriered coffee via our website www.nolacoffee.shop and managed to keep the whole team of employees on board. I believe the financial impact felt didn't ease until April 2023.

What family does the "Croitoria de cafea" have, how many people team up to bring quality coffee to consumers? 

As we speak, we have 6 employees, with me 7. We have 3 colleagues from Chișinău, Ion Jantovan, Alexandru Goian and Iulia Vinocurova, who we are proud of and lucky to have them on our team. The first two have been roasting coffee for about 4 months now, I thought it would be good for them to understand what we do, and I think I was right. We know we split our time between our three shops, our roastery in Cristian, which is set up as a workshop next to our house, and events where we have a mobile stand. We also give presentations, albeit less often, on coffee - from where it grows and how it comes to us, to processing and brewing. Next week, I'll be in Iași with a colleague to prepare coffee from 22-25 November at a medical conference.

What makes your arabica coffee range unique and different from other coffee brands? Where do you source your coffee beans?

We apply an omni-roast degree of roasting, suitable for brewing by any method, highlighting the complex aromatic profile against acidity, preferring a balanced body in the extraction from the cup. We pride ourselves on very small but distinctive batches of Colombian coffee that we buy directly from the Colombian state through the Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (https://federaciondecafeteros.org/ ), a trade union owned by all Colombian farmers, founded in 1926, if I'm not mistaken.

How has your initiative to roast fresh, specialty coffee been received by the community in Brașov? 

I think our guests have enjoyed the sensory experiences we set out to offer from the beginning. Coffee is a journey sometimes in Africa, in the Ethiopian jungle, in the aridity of Rwanda or through the lush forests of Colombia. How can you not enjoy and be inspired by such a journey?

What are the most important aspects you consider when selecting Arabica coffee origins for roasting?

Personal preference and that "je-ne-sais-quoi" are the things that make me choose a coffee. Well, with Colombian ones it's easiest, with FNC providing us with the best 40/700 lots of coffee that Colombia produces in a year.

Was the necessary roasting equipment difficult to obtain? 

About the first I detailed above, sheer luck and timing, the second I managed to purchase in 2020, brand new and Dutch, a Giesen W15A, with a maximum 15kg barge, an electronic and accurate gem.

Tell us about your roasting process and how you maintain high-quality standards.

Once a roasting profile is set, sticking to it is all about the rigor the roaster provides. Having good and accurate tools makes it easy for us to be consistent, to deliver the same quality level of our product.

What advice do you have for coffee enthusiasts who want to explore and better understand the world of specialty coffee?

I firmly believe that any area of taste should be explored as much and as often as possible. The more sensory information one has, the more discerning one should become.

Is there a special story or memory related to a customer or experience from the "Croitoria de cafea" that you would like to share?

A few years ago, I was quite annoyed, and a Jewish tourist guest happened to come in. He asked me why I was annoyed. I told him that the "Nola" cafe wasn't doing too well, that I was hoping for better. He then handed me a tip of 50 monies, a modene. Ironically, I told him he was generous. He smiled and told me that "life made me generous". We laughed out loud together. As we left he raised his index finger to the sky and said, "My dear, know that a small income is not a loss, don't be upset". Well, look, I've stuck with that conviction ever since.

How do you see the specialty coffee industry evolving in the future, and what are your plans for "Croitoria de cafea" and also "Nola"?

Well, we are already talking about a third coffeeshop, guM...a bet that we are fully committed to investing in the development of the specialty coffee market in Brașov, Romania. We believe in evolution, maybe we can manage to make a restaurant in the near future, I think I would complete the 2 notions very well together, being as I said in love with cooking.

What does it mean to you to love what you do in the world of coffee, and how do you want to share this love with your customers?

From construction, which I loved, I can say that through coffee I got a new calling, a new craft. It's nice to socialize, to meet new people, to share with guests behind the scenes about coffee, about farmers, about how we in Brașov can change the destiny of a Colombian farming family.

What types of coffee do you offer your guests, and which ones do they really need to try?

As of June 2023, we have recently certified as an organic processor, so over 70% of our batches are BIO/organic. The others, from Colombia, microlots of the most complex, finest and best Colombian coffee lots of the current and previous year. I insist that everyone should rather consume the coffee that gives them the greatest pleasure, in which they find what they are looking for. Perhaps that's why I insist on finding out what they like, how they like to drink coffee, so that they can have the best possible experience.

A message for coffee drinkers would be? 

As with wine, we find labels and producers that anoint us to the soul, so with coffee, there can be sensational origins. Let's seek them out and enjoy them!