Hungarian Coffee Culture – All You Need to Know

Although not the first place you might think of when talking about coffee, Hungary has a long association with the drink that stretches back many years. Here, we look at the past and present of coffee and café culture in the country.

written by Kathy Gallo

The beginning – arrival in Hungary

Coffee drinking began in the Middle East, probably in Yemen in around the mid-15th century. From there, it spread to Persia, North Africa and Turkey in the 16th century and was brought to Hungary by the Turks.

It is thought that the first time it was seen in the country was when a package containing beans was sent to a Turkish merchant named Behrám in 1579.
However, the coffee-drinking habit did not initially take off among the local population – Hungarians back then referred to the drink as Fekete leves, meaning black soup.

An interesting anecdote tells that according to traditional Turkish practice, financial issues or any other unpalatable issues were never discussed during a meal – but when coffee was served, creditors were free to produce their unpaid accounts.

For this reason, to this day, Hungarians still use the expression “the black soup has not yet arrived”, which means “the worst is still to come”.

Increasing popularity – union with Austria

Although coffee was not commonly drunk in Hungary, in neighboring Austria, a thriving coffee culture was already well developed. In the end, it was international geopolitics that finally caused coffee consumption to become fashionable among Hungarians.

With the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and the closer relations between the two countries, coffee culture finally began to infuse Hungarian society. As Hungarian aristocrats and officers spent more time at court in Vienna, they brought back the Austrian penchant for the drink with them.

From this time, too, coffee in Hungary became known as kávé.

A new chapter in the story of coffee in Hungary had begun.

To World War I – a golden age for coffee in Hungary

Although a few German and Italian coffee shops existed in Pest (one half of the modern city of Budapest) during the 18th century, it was in the late 19th century that they began to proliferate.

At around the turn of the 20th century, it is thought that around 500 cafés had opened their doors in the city.

These coffee shops became important social venues in Hungarian society and were also frequented by writers, poets and artists. These intellectuals and thinkers would meet to drink coffee, to exchange ideas and to work.

Coffee culture became so central to artistic life in Hungary that cafés even provided ink and paper for free as well as serving something known as a “writers menu” of bread, cheese and cold cuts at a discount price.

The golden age of cafés in Hungary was the years from 1910 to 1930 – but with the arrival of the Soviet Union, things were set to change.

The Soviet years – suppression of the coffee shops

The possibility of intellectuals gathering in coffee shops to discuss seditious new ideas was not something the suspicious Soviet authorities were willing to tolerate. As a result, almost all of Hungary’s cafés were closed.

Coffee itself was seen as a luxury item enjoyed only by the privileged few, and the quality of what was available declined rapidly.

The golden age of Hungarian coffee culture at the beginning of the 20th century was followed by years of suppression. It wasn’t until relatively recently, following the fall of the USSR, that the café scene in Hungary began to show the first signs of revival.