Ministry of Ćejf

Overview

Ministry of Ćejf is a Sarajevo specialty café-and-roastery in the city's Old Town opened by former Australian actor Reshad Strik, whose father is Bosnian and who married a Sarajevan woman after settling on the city. The cafe sits near Sebilj fountain and runs a separate roastery a few doors up the same hill — Ćejf Coffee Roasters — sourcing direct-trade lots from Brazil, El Salvador, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Kenya and Burundi and serving them through a multi-method bar that pairs traditional Bosnian-Turkish džezva with espresso, Chemex, V60 and AeroPress. The brand name plays on ćejf, the Bosnian word for the act of unhurried enjoyment.

Known for

• Owner Reshad Strik — former Australian actor, Bosnian father, settled in Sarajevo
• Cafe in Sarajevo's Old Town near Sebilj; sister roastery a few doors away
• Direct-trade origin program: Brazil, El Salvador honey, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica honey, Ethiopia Kercha, Kenya, Burundi
• Multi-method bar pairs traditional Bosnian-Turkish coffee with espresso, AeroPress, Chemex, V60
• Brand named after 'ćejf' — Bosnian for the art of unhurried enjoyment
• One of the few specialty operations among Sarajevo's heritage Bosnian coffee culture

Why it matters

Bosnia and Herzegovina has one of the world's oldest continuous coffee cultures — Sarajevo's tahmiscija coffee-roasting guild dates to the 16th century, predating Vienna and Paris by a hundred years — but specialty-grade light-roast preparation barely exists in the country. Ministry of Ćejf is the operation that linked that heritage 'ćejf' culture to the global third-wave grammar, and per European Coffee Trip remains one of the most identifiable specialty stops anywhere in the Balkans.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

Reshad Strik

color sorting

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roaster machine

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filter equipment

Chemex, V60, AeroPress

cupping frequency

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roastery location

Old Town Sarajevo, near Hiseta 2

espresso equipment

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annual volume tonnes

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Café

Hiseta 2, 71000 Sarajevo

Sources

• https://hikaayat.com/cejf-the-intangible-art-of-enjoying-coffee-in-sarajevo/
• https://themaydan.com/2018/08/love-coffee-letters-istanbul-sarajevo/
• https://europeancoffeetrip.com/cafe/ministrofcejfhiseta-sarajevo/
• https://www.facebook.com/ministryofcejf/
• https://www.instagram.com/cejfcoffeeroasters/
• https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294450-d12557816-r650198382-Ministry_of_Cejf-Sarajevo_Sarajevo_Canton_Federation_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina.html