Karma began as a café with one of the best espresso machines the team could buy and, by its own account, not much knowledge of coffee. For two years it served coffee from Union Hand-Roasted in London, and with Union’s help the team kept working on its skills. Buying a roaster and starting its own roastery followed from that: Karma wanted to learn, to grow and to be independent.

Karma looks for coffees with fruity profiles, “bez nudy”, without boredom. It buys green coffee through Nordic Approach in Oslo and Trabocca in Amsterdam, and orders with an eye on freshness and season; those partners also give it information on growing conditions, varieties, farms, processing and transport.

The roastery is in Kazimierz, and it is also where Karma runs training sessions, cuppings, presentations and meetings. Cafés and restaurants that buy its coffee get a free three-day staff training of 15 hours, and there are courses for home brewers in espresso, milk drinks and pour-over.

At the café in Piasek, just west of Kraków’s Old Town, the coffee comes with food. Cakes, among them gluten-free and vegan ones, tarts, soups and main dishes are all made in the café, and the lunch menu changes every day with the ingredients, the temperature and “the direction of the wind”. Eggs are free-range only, and Karma bakes its own bread.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Karma