Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan (and its former capital), is said to be the ancestral home of apples. Today the city is less about the fruit and much more about its many gardens and iconic fountains, as well as its status as the economic powerhouse of Central Asia. Almatyโs locationโin the foothills of the ancient Mount Imeon range (also called Trans-Ili Alatau)โmeans the city is mostly either beastly hot or practically frozen. Of course, in suchย extremes, coffee is most essential for cooling and heating its citizensโcall it relief and comfort, if you will.
D.O.M. (which comes from the Russian translation and means โhomeโ)ย officially opened in April of this year. But it has been in the works for the past five years in a country that, for the most part, had never heard of specialty coffee and eagerly celebrated itsย first Starbucks opening in 2015.
Over that handful of yearsย Mantas Sapoka, owner of D.O.M. and a native Lithuanian, was getting established in Kazakhstan after relocating there with his wife, a native of the country. D.O.M. is the result of his well-timed reunion with an old Lithuanian friend:ย Mindaugas Ryลกkus, former owner of StrangeLove,ย a cafe/restaurant in Vilnius.
“I met Mantas in Vilnius five years ago.ย He came to the cafe where I worked and we started to talk about coffeeโhe was super interested and excited about my coffee stories,โ says Ryลกkus, who never sits still and, enviably, just keeps traveling the world learning aboutย coffee. โHe helped me to find a new job as barista trainer and salesman, and it was a big step in my career, so [in return]ย I trained and educated him about coffee,โ Ryลกkus continues. โAs soon as he finished up the course he moved to Kazakhstan, [and eventually] becameย La Marzoccoโsย official dealer there.”
So last year when Sapoka invited Ryลกkus to visitย and helpย build his coffee business in Almaty, Ryลกkus left StrangeLove behind with a wink and a waveย to go and assist.
โThe coffee market for specialty products is quite difficult here, because customers are used to drinking dark-roasted commercial blends of Arabica and Robusta,โ says Sapoka. โPeople expect coffee to be very bitter and dark, and most of them prefer to have it with milk. People didnโt know any of the coffees we bring from European suppliers likeย Nordic Approach, Cafe Imports, etc.โ Winning Almaty over to specialty coffee was going to be a challenge.
Starting with the right machines was important, of course. โWe roast our imports on our shiny Probatone 5, we pull espresso shots on a La Marzocco Strada EE, and we also have the first brew bar in Almaty,โ declaresย Sapoka. โAt D.O.M. you can now choose from several brewing methodsโAeroPress, V60, Chemex, siphon, French press andย even cold drip. And lately we have expanded into alcohol-coffee cocktail classics like Irish coffee, and espresso Negroni or an espresso martini.”
Drinks like that seem like an easy sell, but D.O.M. isย making progress on the coffee front too. โSome [customers who] came and drank our coffee for the first time [said]ย that they had never drank coffee without sugar before, and they really loved [ours],โ Sapoka says, smiling. โThis was for us, the biggest compliment possible! It meant that we were making a real difference here.โ
But, he adds, customers still wantย lots of explanations and to hear stories about specialty coffee trends. Says Ryลกkus:ย โThe mission at D.O.M.ย is to prepare coffee warriors”โdon’t worry, he means baristasโ”and bring the right attitude to [Almaty’s] coffee culture.โ Forย Ryลกkus, the mission is completeโhe’s already moved on to Spain, where his next amazing project is underway. But the good work in Almaty continues.ย โI do believe we have set a new coffee standard and that interest will keep booming,โ says Sapoka. Heย moved to Kazakhstan for love and gives some of that love back inย every cup.
Daniel Schefflerย is a Sprudge staff writer at large. His work has appeared inย Tย Magazine,ย Travel And Leisure,ย Monocle,ย Playboy,ย New York Magazine,ย The New York Times, andย Butt. Read more Daniel Scheffler on Sprudge.