The Best Coffee in Berlin part 3

I'm still managing to keep up with my coffee hunt! Woop woop! I actually visited these cafes quite a while ago now, time is flying by! WAH. 


St. Oberholz, Mitte, Rosenthaler Platz. I stumbled on Oberholz accidentally, whilst navigating my way around central Berlin, I later realised that it was THE cafe that pretty much everyone has been talking about. It is the hub of the hipster scene, mainly the expat hipster scene. Most of the upstairs area is taken over by large groups of Americans with massive headphones skyping their friends or Japanese students coding a website. I've been there a few times now and it is always heaving. This makes it a terrible place to try and work because it is always hot and muggy, particularly near the windows. The coffee is good, but nothing particularly special. You can get a decent Cappuccino or a Latte Macchiato, but for the price you pay, I'd say go down the road a bit to The Barn or Bonanza Coffee Heroes if good coffee is what you're after. Still, their iced coffee beverages are good and I'm told that their chai latte is the best in the city.  They're also open late, which means that you can keep working through until 11pm, which is great and it does seem to calm down a little by 8pm. Whilst the service is polite and helpful, I had the impression that I wasn't quite cool enough for the baristas to take me seriously. This made me reluctant to make it my local. Friendly service is EVERYTHING. I still pop in occasionally, mostly to meet a friend before church because the location is so central, but I have to say that I found the whole experience a little bit overrated. 


Five Elephant Coffee, Kreuzberg - I had been wanting to try out this cafe for a while, so took a rather intentional wander towards Golitzer Bahnhof and beyond in search of great coffee. I wasn't disappointed. The cafe itself is situated on  quiet street, away from all the hoards of people, which gives it a really pleasant and peaceful atmosphere. The interior is clean, smart, but still cosy and they have a fantastic selection of magazines. There is definitely a very strong Fair Trade theme throughout, which is appropriate considering their policy is to be as transparant about the source of their coffee beans as possible. They also roast their own beans on site, which means the coffee is super fresh and doubly yummy. I tried a Flat White, which at €2.20 is the cheapest one I have had so far. The only criticism I have, was that it wasn't piping hot, otherwise the texture was perfect and the espresso was warm and rich. I also really loved the burnt orange crockery they used, it made everything feel warm and exotic. The baristas were very friendly and very clued-up on their coffee trivia. I sneaked a peek and other people's drinks and the latte art was consistently flawless.  My drink was also brought directly to me, which was lovely touch. I'm really sad that this little cafe isn't just around the corner from me, because I would happily make it my 'go-to' for the rest of my time here in Berlin, alas it's a 20 minute U-bahn ride and then a 10 minute walk, which makes things a little less practical. Nevertheless I hope to stop by one more time before I leave. 

2 comments :

  1. I love it when a coffee has it's own individual style - it can look so elegant - as in the case of the pictures above. Not only are aesthetics important, but the taste is vital too! I'm sure both St. Oberholz and Five Elephant Coffee are great!

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