I Smashed 10 Unusual Berlin Coffees In 5 Days

I was in Berlin for the first time in my life last month. I must confess I was gladly impressed by the city. In fact, what really struck me the most was its gastronomy options and amazing coffee shops. Let’s discuss.

Before going to Berlin, I could only think of the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and its destruction in 1991. History. That’s it. How wrong I was.

Kristina and I spent 5 glorious days discovering this stunning city. We stayed in the vibrant Mitte District, close to the city centre. The hotel was Moxy Humboldthain. Quite cool, modern, clean, with colourful amenities and a bit of a hipster vibe.

We did pretty much the majority of the “to-do” attractions (including museums, top squares and hidden passages) and we even watched the Champions League Final (Bayern Munich vs PSG) with locals. But let’s park that conversation for another time because what I really want to share with you now is the gastronomy and coffee experience in Berlin. Also, as a separate note, you’d be surprised about how vegetarian and vegan friendly Berlin is!

I LOVE COFFEE AND BRUNCH

These are the coffee shops and brunch places I chronologically tasted in Berlin with my thoughts:

1. Café Krone. Great coffee beans and alternative milks. I like oat milk but one brand in particular is the one I always pick if available: Oatly. This place had it. We also had brunch here. No one told us the size of the portions were for giants. If you come here and order French toast, bear in mind that it’s at least for 2 people even though they say it’s for one. If you get Avocado toast (rye bread), it’s for one very hungry person or again to share.

2. Minty’s Fresh Food Bar. The coffee itself was not as good as in Krone but I loved the fact that it came in a glass instead of a cup. I went one more time for the Avocado toast but this time it was on sourdough bread and a beautiful salad on the side (like in Krone). Portions were king size again but I managed to finish 😉

3. Pure Origins Estate Coffee. I had a flat white with Oatly and it didn’t disappoint. At this point I started to notice that the real good coffees were using La Marzocco machine and grinding in Nuova Simonelli. Beans mix from South America and Africa.

4. Wayne’s Coffee. It was raining and we needed a place to stay for a while. We found this one just few metres away from Pure Origins Estate Coffee, so we decided to try a new one. Not bad but not impressed. It just served the purpose and we had a good time.

5. Father Carpenter. We went for brunch here. I stayed loyal to the Avocado toast. They reinvented it as they put corn, grated cheese and spinach on sourdough bread. The tap water was in medicine bottles, pretty cool. The coffee was great but food wise I wouldn’t say it was memorable for us.

6. 19grams. These guys were very serious about coffee. They have a Roastery and training lab in the same coffee shop in Mitte. You can tell it’s freshly roasted and they have good quality beans from Brazil, Costa Rica and Ethiopia. You can also take your laptop and stay for a bit as the place is big enough except for weekends where it’s very busy.

7. Daluma. Better for brunch than coffee. The coffee comes in a glass like at Minty’s. The flavour itself was not bad but the oat milk was not really tasty. The good thing is that they support the people who produce the coffee at origin instead of multinational corporations. In fact, this is a good place for tea. Food wise, again huge portions. I had an Acaí bowl nicely decorated with fruits but I wish it was denser and not so liquid. The coconut was not sliced in a delicate way, very thick and long. The place is beautiful and the sitting area definitely can take you out of your comfort zone.

8. Zeit für Brot. This is an artisan bakery with some of the best bread and cakes. They have a sitting area. Better for pastries than coffee. I had a delicious Schokoweck (it’s like their own version of the French “pain au chocolat” but using brioche bread). They also have one of the best cinnamon rolls in the city, so keep that in mind if you go.

9. Die Espressonisten. This is the winner for me. Amazing coffee by the Air Service Berlin Welt balloon. I enjoyed a blend called Hafensilber (Arabica 70 / 30 Robusta). They have over 3 grinders and state of the art machines and some great baristas. The place was like being in a coffee museum, so sort of safe.

10. Tucano Coffee. This is a franchise and I believe the first coffee shop started in Chisinau, Moldova. The shop they have in Mitte, Berlin offered some of the best (and most expensive) coffee I tried in this trip.

NOT TOO FULL FOR DINNER?

If you’re still hungry and you fancy trying some places for dinner. There’s 2 that I can recommend:

a) House of Small Wonder. Very warm atmosphere with tons of wood and plants. Local ingredients freshly prepared with Japanese flavours where possible. You can have brunch here too but I’d recommend it for dinner as you can start with some of their amazing cocktails such as Yuzu Sour (Shochu with a Japanese citrus fruit), Chu High (Shochu with lavender, fresh lemon juice and tonic) or Umeshu (Japanese plum liqueur with Cointreau and soda). In terms of food options, it’s a bit more limited for veggie eaters (such as us) but you can still enjoy some Onigiri, Koumiyasai Avocado or Vegan Soboro.

b) FREA. We didn’t make a reservation and showed up. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a table but what we saw and learnt, it was amazing: layout, atmosphere, story and some dishes from other tables. This is also the first vegan zero-waste store in Berlin. All vegan dishes are from sustainable products from regional organic farmers. Besides dispensing with plastic, all food leftovers are composted within 24 hours in their own composting machine and returned to the supplier farms.

WHAT ABOUT DESSERT?

Well, clearly you can try desserts in many places but because I personally love ice-cream, I’ll recommend just one place. The place. The best place in Berlin.

CANAL. This is artisanal ice cream and pastry. All natural and freshly home-made. Unconventional flavours. It’s a tiny shop and it can easily be overlooked but hey, it’s delicious. Even if you need to queue up, it’s worth. They also offer vegan flavours.

Final Thoughts

Undoubtedly, Berlin is a place to have a date with history. But there’s so much beyond that to do that even a week can be short.

We didn’t really have a structured plan before going other than couple of museums, key squares and historical areas. We knew about the hipster vibe too. But that was it.

As somebody mentioned, some of the best things that came to our lives have been unexpected and unplanned. Even though, I’m a massive planner, here I was happy I left my plans behind.