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!
espresso, travel & berlin
Archives for posts with tag: espresso
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.
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.
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.
Coffee Bru is one of the latest additions to the Amsterdam coffee scene. Located in the eastern borough ‘Oost’, it’s not located near any of the other high-level coffee places, allowing a whole new group of people to enjoy speciality coffee. Coffee Bru has been well-designed, which is visible through the decoration. The mosaic on the bar must have taken a while to finish and is custom-made to fit the La Marzocco as well as 2 Anfim grinders and a brew bar. Colorful and artsy throughout, Coffee Bru is a great addition to bring liveliness to the area.
The customers are for the most part locals, as this part of Amsterdam is largely unknown to tourists. Although the child-friendly back of the store will appeal to the mothers in the area, the free wifi will appeal to the working man or students. The espresso I had tasted great. With a winey sour, this is a far cry from Italian style espresso – and gladly so. On the slow coffee-side of things, some improvement can be made, but it’s nearly impossible to have all your filters taste great if you’re working with several baristas, multiple brewing methods and two or three different beans at any given time. While the first Chemex was too bitter, the Sidamo on V60 was great. If they keep working on their skills, this place will be great for both espresso and filter, and is a clear gain for the neighbourhood.
Newly opened on the day of our visit, this place in the historic city of Hasselt is yet another offspring of the Antwerp-based Caffenation family. Inspiring others to open up coffee bars like the Village in Utrecht and temporary coffee lab Zwart in Antwerp, Marc has been thinking about taking the love for coffee from Antwerp to Hasselt for a long while, before finally taking the decision to go for it, as other coffee houses in the city still mostly lack the dedication he has for coffee. The result is the opening of KingKongCoffee, this January 6, 2012.
The saying that every answer raises new questions, seems to be equally true to experiences. Each new experience makes one long for more new experiences. That’s why I’ve created this wish list. I’m not pretending to remember every single spot I’ve ever come across and want to visit, but by putting them on a map, I should be able to keep track of places I one day want to see. And perhaps it even generates more wishes through tips from other people: so feel free to comment and advice me.
Although I have been drinking lots of coffees over the past months, no new ratings have been posted to my blog. The reason for this is simply that I have been neglecting my blog for a long time, but it’s time to step up now. And the place I’d wish to start with, is the Village in Utrecht. Right around the corner from where I live, this place has opened up last February. Right on the first days I stopped by for a coffee, but struggled to formulate an opinion back then. On the one hand, I have always loved the relaxedness about the place, yet I didn’t think their espressos were any good – back then.
Located in an old-fashioned market hall, where local produce as well as exotic products are being sold, this espresso bar is a good place to recover from the masses of shopping people. The espresso machiatto was on the mild side for my liking, while the espresso got completely lost in the milk of the cappuccino. They do however have various beans on offer, so that might be a solution to their mild standard bean, although I haven’t tried the other beans, all other variables were as they should be: nicely foamed and just the right amount of milk.
