Corporate coffee drinking

  • 2008-11-05
  • By Justinas Vainilavičius

COFFEE BREAK: Lithuania has plenty of laid back cafes where one can sip on their drink of choice.

VILNIUS - If that caffeine monster living inside you needs to be fed once again, do not look for a Starbucks here in Vilnius. You will simply not find one. And that is a good thing if you are tired of their worldwide omnipresence.
The Lithuanian capital offers a wide variety of cozy cafes and hip coffeehouses to take espresso shots or sip lattes. However, fans of chain coffeehouses are not left out 's they will find some mini coffee empires here as well.

Coffee Inn attracts a mostly young crowd, including all kinds of hipsters and young professionals. Its idea is similar to the one Starbucks generated 's to be "the third place," after home and work, to spend time. Coffee Inn managed to do that well, creating an unpretentious interior with a bar, bulletin board, and bags of coffee beans, some sofas and shelves full of magazines, books and tabletop games, as well as free WiFi.
Baristas treat you like an old friend. Well, at least they did until coffeehouses became so popular they do not always seem to have time for that. Animal lovers are more than welcome, as Coffee Inns are pets-friendly. Coffee Inns also welcome those who love music. That is why marketing tricks such as temporary coffeehouses in the biggest Lithuanian summer music festivals are common for this company.

So many details, you almost forget all this should be about coffee. You can drink lots of traditional coffees here or you can make your own. Try cheesecake or cupcakes if you are hungry. When you feel like eating some airport-style food, grab a sandwich or hot panini.
Try Double Coffee for something different. It is the biggest chain of coffeehouses in the Baltics, stretching from Tallinn to Kiev. Visit Double Coffee when you want a decent breakfast along with a morning cup of coffee, or use free WiFi while waiting on salads for lunch.

The food is far better here than in any other chain coffeehouses and the coffee tastes good as well. The service is excellent. Therefore, prices are far higher as well. That is why Double Coffees usually attract an older crowd and creates a more sophisticated and rather constrained atmosphere. Some Double Coffees are open 24 hours 's meaning that clubbers love them, together with those who just like staying longer at night and are not in the mood for drinking Lavazza coffee in other night cafes. 

Vero Cafe is the youngest chain 's its first cafe opened last year in Kaunas 's and has yet to put some effort in creating a stable fan circle around itself like both Coffee Inn and Double Coffee have. Vero follows a similar line as that of Double Coffee, targeting primarily office workers, but is focusing more on take-out coffee. Try it if you want a reasonably priced good tasting coffee or dessert.
You can also check out a lot of other popular and a little bit cheaper take-out coffee spots including Lietuvos Spauda kiosks and Cili Kava.

If you are very anti-corporate or just want to enjoy your favorite coffee in a relaxed way inside a cafe not surrounded by a caffeine-obsessed crowd, go anywhere not mentioned before.