I like coffee. No scratch that, I love coffee. No, scratch that, I love good coffee.
In Berlin the coffee is occasionally hit and miss. My heart sinks when my coffee comes out with that tell-tale over bubbly topping which suggests the foam came out of a machine. The benefit is that you do always seem to get a biscuit on the side with these coffees though. So, y'know, plus sides.
On the flip side, you get the coffee shops that, in my addled morning state, love their coffee a bit too much. As they're making me sniff my freshly poured coffee to smell the aroma and telling me all about where the beans come from I just want to snatch it out of their hands and scurry away, muttering 'my precious' at it. One look at my morning face should tell you that I have no interest in knowing what I'm drinking, I just want it hitting the back of my throat as soon as possible.
Here are a few words to help you get your order in and get sipping. After the pics there's a few of my favourite places to drink coffee.
I think almost every Berlin blogger has shared their favourite coffee shops at one point or another, so I'm just jumping on the trend. Feel free to recommend more, as long as they don't give me over-bubbly foam.
1. Cafe Kraft - it's relatively new so hasn't done the rounds on the 'Best Berlin Coffee Shops' list yet. Great coffee and super-friendly service are the order of the day in this cafe. If you don't live in the area then it's not the most obvious place to go to but it's definitely worth the effort. SchivelbeinerStr. 23. Nearest U/S-bahn - Bornholmer Strasse/Schönhauser Allee.
2. The Barn - I like the small one in Auguststrasse as it's friendly and more relaxed, and they know my name now which makes the coffee taste all the sweeter for it. The larger one on Schönhauser Allee made me sniff my coffee... enough said. AugustStr. 58. Nearest U-bahn - Rosenthaler Platz.
3. Bonanza Coffee Heroes - I buy my ground coffee from these guys because it tastes so damn good... their flat whites are pretty tasty too and now that they've extended their cafe you don't need to sit pressed up cheek to jowl with your neighbours. Word of warning, avoid this place on a Sunday when Mauer park is in full swing, especially if you're in need of an instant caffeine hit. OderbergerStr. 35. Nearest U-bahn - Eberswalder Strasse.
4. Concierge Coffee - We stumbled across this one day after a German lesson and promptly declared it the best coffee we'd ever tasted in Berlin... and then never went back. Paul-Lincke-Ufer 39-40. Nearest U-bahn - Schönleinstr. or Kotbusser Tor.
5. Passenger Espresso - I go by the rule that any coffee shop run by Kiwis will be good and, so far, I've not been disappointed. OppelnerStr. 45. Nearest U-bahn - Schlesisches Tor.
6. Father's Carpenter - set into a pretty hof in the middle of Mitte this café used to make the finest poached eggs and avocado in Berlin. Sadly they've stopped doing it now but their coffee is still mighty fine. Münzstraße 21. Nearest U-bahn - Weinmeisterstr.
An honorary mention goes to Double Eye (Akazienstraße 22, U-bahn - EisenacherStr.), I have yet to visit it but my German teacher refuses to drink coffee anywhere else. I trust his taste.
Happy drinking. Know anywhere else? Let us know in the comments.
It's been said many a time before - Germans, they like their rules. It might be a stereotype, but after you've been shouted at one too many times for cycling on the pavement or crossing the street when you shouldn't be you realise that there's some basis to the stereotype.