We’re a small-batch coffee roastery based in Vilnius, operating since 1999. We started exploring specialty coffee before “specialty” was even a term – or a market – in Lithuania and the Baltics.

From the beginning, it’s been about ambition. A drive to keep improving — to do things better, cleaner, smarter, more meaningfully. That mindset led us to technologies like Loring Smart roaster, Sovda optical sorters — among the most advanced in the world: efficient, precise, and sustainable.

We represent some of the leading equipment brands used by top baristas around the globe: Dalla Corte, Mahlkönig, Puqpress, Swiss Tone. As their ambassadors in Lithuania, we stand behind this gear — behind our bars and far beyond them.

Our history includes 10 Lithuanian Barista Champions and 17 silver and bronze medals at barista competitions. This is not a nostalgic list — it’s the standard we continue to hold ourselves to.

Vytautas Kratulis is the founder of Huracan Coffee – a roaster, technologist, lecturer and educator. Since 2005, he has served as a juror at the prestigious international coffee competition Cup of Excellence.

“I remember Mirela told me, twenty years ago: Vytautas, you can’t buy all the good coffee in the world. But I’m still trying. My limitation is my market. My customers – they don’t want to pay too much for coffee. If I bring in the most expensive coffees, people don’t love it when their cup hurts the wallet. And besides – the most expensive ones aren’t always the best. Price is just a condition. An indicator. There were times when farmers were poor. Now the market has shifted. If you’re not in a co-op, not in a structured African supply chain – chances are, you’re doing quite well. But there’s tension. The farmer is asking: will anyone still buy at this price? They’re scared. And so am I – if I raise the price, will I still have customers? But one thing is clear: I will never compromise on quality. If it’s coffee – there’s a threshold. And below that, I simply won’t buy.”

Very often, good clarity or decent acidity – those aren’t the criteria I use when choosing coffee. It’s not enough for me. There has to be something more. A kind of character in the cup. Something that says: this is how I imagine Colombia. Or Indonesia. It can be far from classic. Or it can be the traditional profile – but it has to be authentic. Honest. I always think about that customer who’ll want a second sip.
And no – it’s not because I’m short on coffee to roast.

Sourcing great coffee always starts with the relationship. To me, a coffee grower is a person. Real. Flesh and blood. But I’m looking for someone who’s a little bit of a freak – like me. Someone who sees coffee as sacred. Who wants their coffee to be different. Authentic. True to where it comes from.That’s not easy to find. Most of the good ones are already selling to big markets, big companies. I have no leverage — just the price I can offer. Maybe one day I could negotiate more if my company had a luxurious presence in the US. But I don’t. I’m just a roaster from a small country. Sometimes, I get lucky. Like in Nicaragua — I work with producers who want me to buy because their coffee isn’t widely known. But they don’t always send samples every year. That’s why these trips matter. Not for coffee tourism. But to keep the relationships alive. To find good coffee. To agree on something real. I go to visit people. They wait for me. To do business.

When I travel, I’m looking for potential. I always want to see the best examples.
The most interesting thing is not what a country already does, but what it might be able to do. That’s where Cup of Excellence comes in, a competition and awards that inspires the growers. Judging in COE helps me see clearly: what I want – and what I don’t. For example – one of my recent trips was to Taiwan. I tasted their Geisha, and I can’t stop thinking about it. That a Taiwanese Geisha might have more future than a Panamanian one. The flavour was so vivid. The price – more appealing too. I would love to do more COE work, to follow that instinct. to keep following that direction. To see where it leads .To prove it right.”

“I’m a soldier. I fight for coffee quality. Whether it’s preserving the quality of Arabica or tasting a Liberica–Arabica hybrid and asking: what’s the flavour? What’s the value? I stand on guard. I’ll fight for purity of flavour. For new varieties. For processing methods that add meaning, not just excitement. Flavour is the Holy Grail. You stand for it. Take anaerobic or infused coffees – you can shock or impress a customer instantly. But I’ll be the one voting no. To me, that’s the real question: Is it good? Is it worth our attention?”

What drives me most is being part of the process. Improving things — yes. But more than that, supporting the kind of organisations that actually change people’s lives. I’m not interested in standing at the back of the ship, giving orders. I’d rather be at the bow — seeing where we’re headed. I care about what matters. Money only matters if it helps coffee culture move forward. Shifting the axis of the world — now that would be something.