Coffee Pirates opened in Alsergrund, Vienna’s 9th district, in 2012. By its own account it was the first organic-certified third-wave coffee shop and roastery in Vienna, and after more than a decade it is “an institution for the 9th district and the university nearby”. The café is meant as “a modern translation of the traditional Viennese coffeehouse culture”: a place for a quick cup, a homemade pastry or a few hours away from home. The Coffee Pirates Bakery operates next door, and work by the artist Norbert Brunner is on show in the café, including Pardon, a piece in acrylic glass, synthetic crystals and LEDs.

The coffee is roasted in Vienna and the business is certified organic. The team travels to coffee-growing countries for transparency and traceability, and above all to build long-term relationships with farmers and cooperatives. Coffee Pirates pays three to five times the market or Fairtrade price for exceptional coffees, rewarding the work of planting, harvesting and processing. The range runs from organic house blends for espresso to single origins and a water-processed decaf, with some lots bought through Cafe Imports in Berlin.

Coffee Pirates holds that the people behind the bar, in the roastery and in the kitchen are the key to great coffee, and it aims for an honest working atmosphere in which the team is treated with respect. The aim for every roast is a clean, sweet and well-balanced cup. Coffee Pirates also supplies its coffee and its homemade baked goods to other cafés and businesses, and ships beans from Vienna across Austria and the rest of the EU.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Coffee Pirates