From the outside, this place looks really inviting. Inside, large sofas scream for you to sit on them, but the best this place has to offer is the mere ability to sit down and browse the web. The deliciously looking wrap has in fact been in the window for hours before being sold. The cappuccino is miraculously both bitter and milky, as they probably don’t known how to handle their espresso machine and instead of just frothing the milk, they ‘cook’ it. If anything’s done at all, as the ‘barista’ felt the milk-filled pitched to see if it was still hot enough – as it was not, she steamed it up to temperature for a bit, without adding any new, fresh milk. On top of that, a load of cocoa sprinkles has been dumped on top of the milk foam.
Please, avoid.
This small coffee bar is still one of those proper local “Kiez”-bar Prenzlauer Berg is famous for. Just sit down and relax as people pass by on the street and locals enjoy their coffee around you. Sure enough, the espressos are not top-notch, with large in volume and thus watery espressos, but the barista here is just doing his own best and enjoys catering locals, without the fuzz of wanting to be the very best. A place that I can wholeheartedly recommend!
With an additional star for the extensive array of different coffee beans offered at the Berliner Kaffeerösterei, I’m amazed to get a decent espresso just steps from the Ku’damm shopping street. Although the clientele does not seem of the kind who cares for the quality of an espresso -instead, the Viennese coffee culture comes to mind when looking at other guests- it was still somewhat oily and rich in flavors. And did I already point out their choice in coffees? Various beans both as French press and espresso, although they fail to adjust their grinders for different espresso beans, thus probably only obtaining a good result with their standard espresso beans. In the shop next-door you can get all the coffees for preparation at home.
Celebrating the 125th birthday of the German Champs Elysees, the Kurfürstendamm, Espresso Ambulanz opened up a temporary kiosk on the corner of Ku’damm and Uhlandstraße as a starting point for the exhibitions along the street. Sadly though, location seems more important than quality at this pop-up store, leaving me with a bitter and burnt espresso machiatto, topped with mediocre milk foam from UHT milk and a desperate with to go back ‘east’ and enjoy a proper Italian espresso at the Oranienburger Straße, especially taking the premium prices on this location into consideration.
Often having cited Espresso Ambulanz as my favorite Berlin espresso bar, it’s become an obligatory stop on every visit to Berlin. Tastes develop though, and having moved away from coffees with syrups and cappuccinos to espressos or an espresso machiatto, this place falls through in terms of espresso as being no more than an “okay” espresso bar.
Using dark roast espresso beans, they manage to serve decent Italian-style espressos, as their Italian clientele may find pleasing. The third wave of coffee, using lighter roasts to allow more balanced and complex flavors to find its way to your espresso, completely passes by on these guys. A field trip to some coffee heroes or a barn would be really helpful, but may cost them their loyal Italian clientele.
All in all, good memories are hard to erase and I still wholeheartedly recommend Espresso Ambulanz for having a cappuccino or some sweet syrup-delight. It’s still a great place to lounge -provided you are able to find a seat- and use their free wifi to keep up with digital life.
With a name that sounds rather promising, a fine looking facade and the rain pouring down on us, we decided to go in for a cup of coffee. One should however be alarmed by the Segafredo signs, warning for poor coffee. The foamed milk was awful, as can be seen from the picture, and I actually had to try my best to finish my simple cappuccino. If it wasn’t for the rain outside, I’d have run away after a single sip. Seriously: Stay. Away. Try your luck in the neighbouring market hall instead. A little research learned that this place is in fact part of a chain of bakeries in the area, so perhaps their pastry is better than their coffee. Stick to your trade, bakery!
“World famous” Bonanza Coffee Heroes in the hip district of Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg, had to be the first coffee stop of the holiday. With the place packed with hipsters, we decided to go in and have a drink. Sadly, they forgot to make one of two ordered drinks, so I had to go back inside to claim my espresso. When I was finally able to enjoy my espresso, the sheer richness in flavour and the oily substance of the espresso made me forgive their failure to deliver, instantly.
Thriving from the location between the Mauerpark and the Kastanienallee, this place is especially popular amongst the young and hip. For a more relaxed place to calmly enjoy your coffee, I’d recommend nearby Cafe CK. Then again, this is absolutely a must in any coffee lover’s visit to Berlin, and a great place to buy some beans, as we did for preparation in our holiday apartment.
Right in Berlin’s “coffee heart” in Prenzlauer Berg, Cory and Kerstin run Cafe CK. Using beans from nearby Bonanza Coffee Heroes, they offer various slow coffee methods as well as several different beans. Of these methods, especially the V60 Iced Coffee Maker is one I haven’t come across too often, yet.
In terms of making espresso, they do not match up to Bonanza’s rich espressos, full of delicious oils. That said, they are doing a fine job – on more than espresso- and the place is more suitable for having a relaxing cup of coffee -try the Iced V60 in summer!- as is the busy Bonanza.
On Sundays they serve American pancakes for breakfast – the perfect way to wake up. Mind you, breakfast in Berlin is generally available throughout the afternoon.
Tucked away on the corner of two busy shopping streets, this franchise of Bagels & Beans is proud to have won the infamous test of a Dutch national newspaper on cappuccino back in 2008. Back then, this reflected upon all other franchises of Bagels & Beans as well, but as I’ve experienced later on, quality control sometimes failed to keep such high standards for all outlets.
Passing by and looking for lunch, we decided to go in for a bagel and coffee. Inside, there’s hardly any room. The cornerhouse is small, and the bar takes up over half of the store, even though it’s one of the smallest bars I’ve seen at any Bagels & Beans outlet. Spread over every inch of available floor space, there’s perhaps seating for some 20 people. The obvious result of this is waiters being hardly able to reach our table, and after the first waiter told us a colleague would be with us shortly on a haughty tone, the second got our order wrong. Ordering a large espresso machiatto, I received a single latte machiatto. Not feeling like a cup of hot milk, I kindly asked her to take it back and bring me an espresso machiatto instead, as I ordered, she reluctantly took it back, never apologizing for their error.
Instead of quickly remaking the order, so I could enjoy my coffee together with my tablemates, it was just added to the back of the queue, and as I’ve nearly finished my bagel, my remade drink was finally served. Admittedly, it wasn’t bad. A little sour, and the foam was scooped on, where I’d prefer it to carefully poured to avoid creating a solid layer of foam on top of an espresso.
All in all, this is probably one of the best places the city has to offer in terms of coffee, but I’d suggest taking your coffee out, instead of finding a seat inside, for you will at least be able to drink and enjoy your coffee without the haughty staff looking at you disdainfully.