The 8 Best Coffee Shops In Berlin. The German Capital Has Officially Transformed Into A Coffee Mecca. #Coffee #Berlin #Germany

by ELIOT STEIN

Berliners are known for feasting on life's great pleasures, yet until recently, world-class coffee has been one vice that's been notoriously hard to find here. But in the last few years, a swell of chic caffeine chapels has sprouted up faster than you can say "cold-drip brew" and transformed the German capital into a legit, third-wave coffee mecca—wander around the trendy neighborhoods of Neukölln, Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg, or Mitte, and you'll find more specialty roasters than you can shake a syphon at. From Viennese-inspired coffeehouses to industrial caffeine haunts, here's our list of Berlin's very best coffee shops.

Courtesy The Barn Coffee Roasters

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The Barn Roastery

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The Barn which opened in 2010 in hopes of reestablishing a serious coffee culture in Berlin, serves some of the best espresso we’ve had in the city—or anywhere in Germany, for that matter. Beans come from places like Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Costa Rica; the espressos are bitter and bold; and the macchiatos, with their frothy fleur-de-lis, are as pretty as they are painstaking. Don’t expect to find sugar or milk easily here, though—these guys are purists.

Courtesy Bonanza Coffee Heroes

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Bonanza Coffee Heroes

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Located smack-dab in the middle of the elegant Oderberger Strasse in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, just a few streets south of popular Mauerpark, Bonanza Coffee opened in 2006—a lifetime ago, in Berlin years—and has something of a religious following among third-wave coffee aficionados. The site-roasted beans have a fruity note to them, and that cherry flavor seeps into everything from the cortado to the flat white (said to be among Berlin’s very best), and double shots come standard with each espresso order. Whether you stop in for a goosebump-inducing jolt before scouring Mauerpark’s flea market or just to meet friends before a day out, you'll be struck with how intimate the small space feels.

Refugio Café

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At first glance, Refugio looks like so many other achingly hip Berlin coffee joints: comfy golden couches, dangling plants, and local art for sale. But what makes it so unique is the fact that it’s staffed entirely by newly arrived migrants and asylum seekers. In fact, what you see is just one of five floors where 40 refugees from Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Eritrea live and work as a large family. Weekly language courses, free exhibitions, great craft coffee, and a delicious Syrian brunch make this a local favorite.

Courtesy Hallesches Haus

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Hallesches Haus

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As you veer off the canal-lined Tempelofer Ufer and push past the dangling ivy sails and draped lights of outdoor tables, the interior of Hallesches Haus hits you like a hyper-curated design catalog. Raw brick walls, soaring ceilings, blooming succulents, wooden communal tables, and industrial chandeliers give this formerly vacant 1902 post office building a generous dose of cool and cozy. The result is a stunning multi-use cafe, event space, and kitschy-chic general store where you’ll want to drink, work on your laptop, or meet friends.

Bernd Brundert/Courtesy Cafe Einstein Stammhaus

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Café Einstein Stammhaus

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You may want to tuck in your shirt as you enter the tony Tiergarten neighborhood and into the Italian neoclassical villa that houses one of Europe’s great old coffeehouses. Inside, parquet floors, waiters in black and white suits, and marble-topped tables with leather banquettes make the Viennese-inspired cafe feel like a relic of pre-war Berlin. Film buffs may even recognize the place, as it’s where Tarantino shot the tense cafe scene in Inglourious Basterds.

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Prinzessinnengärten Café

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Nine years ago, a group of volunteers set out to transform a 60-year-old abandoned wasteland in the middle of Kreuzberg’s busy Moritzplatz into a green oasis. Today, these tranquil "princess gardens" produce more than 500 types of vegetables and hide a delightful organic cafe. Courses are offered in everything from composting to beekeeping here, but it’s the idyllic tree-shaded cafe that’s the main draw for those walking, biking, or otherwise passing by. Come here to sip a strong espresso or herbal mate while communing with nature.

Philipp Dera/Courtesy Five Elephant

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Five Elephant

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Sat on a leafy side street a block from Görlitzer Park in the oh-so-trendy Kreuzkölln ‘hood, Five Elephant helped pioneer the third-wave coffee trend in Berlin. Vintage maps sprawled across the white walls show the journey of the beans from countries like Brazil, Ethiopia, El Salvador, and Colombia to the minimal stool-studded cafe where they’re roasted onsite. Wooden tables, outdoor seating on Reichenberger Strasse, and an open-back kitchen make this one of our favorite places to start our day.

Courtesy Districkt Coffee

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Distrikt Coffee

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Cafes in Mitte can sometimes feel like they're catering to business clientele or tourists, but Distrikt is a locals-only gem, and its free Wi-Fi makes it a good place to catch up on emails and fuel up before exploring. If you like your espresso bitter, this is the place for you. The espresso beans come courtesy of Berlin’s Fjord Coffee Roasters and make their way into any number of frothy or straight black options, all served in elegant porcelain cups.

Source: https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-coffee-shops-in-berlin