About Us

About us

our story continued...

Following his passion for coffee, Szabolcs first worked for the world's largest multinational companies (Google, Nike), and years later a chance meeting changed everything. A coffee master, Daisuke, one of the world's most respected coffee professionals, took him on as a mentor. After a year of intense learning and traveling, in 2020 he gave birth to the Daisuke coffee brand. On 2 January 2020, the first Daisuke coffee shop opened in Budapest, in the Corvin district.

But the start was not smooth. In February Szabolcs had a relapse of a serious illness, and in March the pandemic forced the newly opened café to close. The story of Daisuke was thus intertwined with Szabolcs' personal struggles and development. As he healed and became a better person, so Daisuke rebuilt and grew. Initially they only supplied coffee to partners, and then they reopened the Corvin Café. From 2022, growth accelerated, and today the Daisuke brand comprises three coffee shops, two Kaffeine coffee shops (soon to be called Daisuke), a roasting plant and a confectionery. Our products can now be found in other cafés, offices and restaurants.

Daisuke Tanaka

Our namesake, Daisuke Tanaka, was born in Japan, the capital of sophisticated modern coffee consumption. He recognized early on that he had a special talent for coffee tasting and, because his talent was recognized by others, he was selected to be on the jury of the world's most prestigious international coffee competition, the Cup of Excellence. It was at one of these events that he met Sergio Ortez from Nicaragua, who came to the competition with his own coffee.

The two men, both the same age, formed a friendship that has lasted to this day. Daisuke asked Sergio if he could spend a few weeks on his farm. During his stay in Central America, the Japanese expert learned a lot about growing, harvesting and processing coffee, and he taught the farmer the art of cupping, or tasting. As well as learning the trade, Daisuke also discovered the difficulties that farmers face. The biggest problem is the fluctuating price of coffee, which makes farmers' livelihoods precarious.

Daisuke has developed a plan for direct trade, which will keep more money in farmers' pockets and provide predictability and security. At the same time, farmers must also adhere to strict rules on quality and sustainability. Child labor is banned, workers are paid a premium wage compared to other farms, and the highest possible quality is required in production and processing.

Sergio introduced his friend to several Central American producers who are also frequent participants in coffee competitions and a collaboration began. During the harvests, Daisuke has the first choice, tastes everything and brings the best beans - for Hungarian customers as well.

Daisuke now runs two coffee shops in Japan and supplies many micro- and home roasters with truly fair trade green coffee.

The principles of our social mission

Exploitation is a sad part of coffee production. Child labor is part of everyday life, and children do not even go to school during harvest time. But child labor is nonexistent on Daisuke farms. Why? We pay a fixed amount, several times the world market price per kilo of beans, so not only do we pay the farm workers a decent wage, but we also support the children's education.

In our experience, obtaining fair trade certification places a heavy financial and administrative burden on farmers, but once the certification is awarded, the issuers lack the capacity to continuously monitor whether the principles of worker protection are being implemented in practice. We do, however, continuously monitor compliance with the rules.

Infrastructural improvements are essential on these farms, and the high price paid for coffee allows for these efforts. One way to make a serious difference is to improve biodiversity. Coffee production is traditionally monocultural, which exhausts the land and does not provide workers with work in the off-season. Our friend Felipe has dedicated his life to polycultural production, and his method is already used on nearly 100 farms. The 24 varieties of crops grown on the farms provide food, work and income for the people, as well as nutrients for the land.

The path of the beans is completely transparent. We deal personally with the farmers, the money paid goes entirely to them, there are no other traders or distributors in the chain. We give our corporate partners, the companies that order from us, the opportunity to contact the farmers, learn about their lives, their needs and the coffee itself.