A new trend has taken Lithuania by storm: a unique cafe called Rocket Bean has opened in Vilnius, uniting coffee lovers into a community. The idea was inspired by Latvia and Estonia, where such cafes have long been a novelty: there are 5 Rocket Bean cafes in Riga and 1 in Tallinn.
The first unique “Rocket Bean” cafe, located in the renovated Halė district of Vilnius, on Sodų Street, organizes coffee tastings, competitions, and various mini-events. events.
Here you can enjoy not only regular coffees but also exclusive exotic ones, such as fermented strawberry and lychee coffees, as well as snacks and desserts in unexpected combinations.
The assortment includes such curiosities as coffee kombucha, matcha tonic, cold coffee in cans, and baristas behind the bar create unique seasonal drinks. For the hungry, there are quiches and sandwiches with the most unexpected flavors, for example, with goat cheese, caramelized onions and beets. Vegans will be pleasantly surprised by fresh and light cakes, tartlets with passion fruit and bergamot, and the baristas blink and whisper that the assortment is constantly being updated.
The Rocket Bean cafe chain is expanding throughout the Baltic States and will soon open several more cafes, inviting visitors to join a community that loves new flavors and quality.
Coffee consumption in Lithuania is surprising
Lithuania has a fairly strong coffee drinking culture, the strongest of all the Baltic countries. Each Lithuanian drinks about 4 kg of coffee per year. Domas Balandis, the head of the Rocket Bean coffee chain in Lithuania, shares the statistics:
"In total, we sell about 20 tons of coffee per month in all the Baltic countries, and in the near future we plan to increase this to 50 tons. Lithuanians love coffee, and the coffee market here is the largest of all the Baltic countries. We are trying to conquer it." (smiles). "
"The entire coffee journey is in our hands"
Rocket Bean stands out because they control the entire process of their coffee: from bringing coffee beans from exotic countries, processing at the roastery, testing, tasting, packaging, and other important steps, until the steaming and aromatic coffee is served in a cup by the baristas for you to enjoy.
"Coffee comes to our cafe from the farthest corners of the world. Brazil, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Colombia are the main suppliers of Rocket Bean coffee beans."
However, we are not limited to our current coffee suppliers, but are constantly looking for new ones, bringing coffee home in small quantities, tasting and presenting what we think is the best to our customers, while also researching which options will be popular,” says D. Balandis.
To ensure that the exceptional quality of the coffee is controlled from start to finish, Rocket Bean takes care of the coffee roasting itself – the coffee for the cafes is roasted by the Rocket Bean Roastery coffee roastery in Riga. However, as the cafe chain expands, so does the capacity, which is why construction of a much larger coffee roastery is starting in Riga this year.
Events and entertainment at Rocket Bean Cafe
Rocket Bean invites you to add flavor to your everyday life: in many cases, you can taste quality coffee here while enjoying a fun event. Last summer alone, the cafe hosted events such as "Open Bag Day", when guests could taste all the coffees sold at the cafe during an open tasting.
The "Midsummer afternoon coffee" event combined coffee tasting with various treats from small Lithuanian farms, followed by a bouquet-making workshop using seasonal plants growing in Lithuania.
The World of Coffee event featured tastings of exceptional coffees roasted by masters from around the world. The tasting was so successful that it was not possible to accommodate everyone who wanted to attend, so event was repeated.
"Latte Art Throwdown", during which the strongest baristas from various cafes competed in a milk froth drawing competition.
Similar types of events and gatherings are an important part of Rocket Bean's coffee shop operations, adding a spicy flavor to the daily coffee drinking rituals.
What you haven't heard yet: coffee kombucha in the range
Delicious black, latte, cappuccino, macchiato and other well-known coffees at Rocket Bean are served only after careful tasting and selection, and for lovers of innovation, the cafe offers not only the usual, beloved by many kombucha drinks, but also a novelty that has won a bunch of global awards - coffee kombucha. True, coffee kombucha is served here and flavored with an orange aftertaste, which is why even coffee enthusiasts and gourmets who have tried everything are attracted to Rocket Bean.
The ritual of drinking coffee in a café is, of course, complemented by the opportunity to order delicious, mouth-watering snacks.
by the way in Latvia Rocket Bean cafes in Lithuania and Estonia also sell new products such as alcoholic coffee and berry kombucha and a beer and coffee drink. Serving these innovations at Rocket Bean in Vilnius is already in the near future.
Features of making premium coffee
As coffee making technologies modernize, there are more and more cases where barista services are being abandoned and quality coffee is simply made by automatic coffee machines.
D. Balandis comments on the peculiarities of coffee making at the Rocket Bean cafe: "Innovative coffee machines can often make coffee no worse than humans. On the other hand, no matter how good the equipment is, the human factor still remains. Therefore, in our cafe we use world-class equipment, which is in the TOP five of the world's coffee producers, and, of course, at the same time we rely on the skill of the barista. We believe that the full potential of the equipment can be exploited by the human "touch".
"By the way, we select baristas very carefully, we hope that the person working in this job would want and be able to recognize and appreciate the highest quality coffee. We thoroughly train the intricacies of coffee production, because we have a certified (SCA – Specialty Coffee Association) teacher on our team."
So, at the Rocket Bean cafe own Both lovers of the highest quality classic coffee and coffee gourmets who are looking for innovations and have already tasted everything will find their taste. Rocket Bean is pleased to offer a wide and diverse assortment of aromatic coffee, complemented by a delicious sweet bite for those with a sweet tooth.
