The Only Romanian Type of Coffee – “Marghiloman” now in Constanta at The Coffee Shop
The coffee with the name of a prime-minister is the only type of coffee invented in Romania and it was the favourite coffee at the high life coffee shops and restaurants in Bucharest after WWI.
The name comes from Alexandru Marghiloman (1854 – 1925), Romanian politician and former prime-minister of the Conservative Party who was very fond of the brown drink and its revitalizing effects. Legend has it that, while out hunting with his friends, Marghiloman asked his butler for a cup of coffee. Out of water, the butler had to improvise and used cognac to make the coffee. This is how “marghiloman” coffee was born. Typically Romanian, this coffee is a mixture of Turkish and French influences – the essence of Romania at the turn of the century. It is actually Turkish coffee boiled with French cognac instead of water. Sometimes Jamaican rum can be used.
Very soon this special mixture caught on – politicians and intellectuals used to drink it at expensive restaurants in Bucharest such as Capsa or Hanul lui Manuc. It is served in small cups called “filigeana”. Today you can also drink it in Constanta.