The best coffee roasters in Germany

Volker Huber roasts strong blends like "Mr. Sack" in a former brewery. In Baden-Baden, he also runs the "Brewbar 2.0" and offers workshops.

Where malt beer was once brewed, coffee beans have been roasted for the past five years under the direction of Volker Huber. His stylishly designed roastery, "Kaffeesack," located in a renovated industrial monument, offers a compelling and robust calling card with its signature blend "Mr. Sack" (50 percent Arabica and Robusta from Brazil and India), showcasing its 13 different coffees, including the decaffeinated "Schlafsack." We enjoy the somewhat milder "Hirsch 6" at the address that gave it its name, in the nearby spa town of Baden-Baden, where "Kaffeesack" was founded in 2014 and where a second location, "Brewbar 2.0," has since opened alongside the one on Hirschstrasse. The peanut notes of this medium-roasted Arabica blend, perfect for a superb cappuccino, pair wonderfully with the homemade, moist banana bread. A rather classic duet. It would be even more unusual to order a cold brew – that cold-extracted filter coffee served over ice with mint and lemon – to accompany a colorful slice of bread spread with hummus. Huber relies on direct contact with partner coffee farms for his core competencies, ensuring high quality standards, as well as considering ecological and social aspects. Through coffee seminars and barista courses, he aims to share his passion with as many coffee lovers as possible.

Vote, Berlin

The newcomers in our guide are all impressive. "Morgen" and "Gestern" taste wonderful. Chef Philipp Reichel also organizes Berlin Coffee Week.

Young, trendy roasters often like to keep things exciting – you often have to guess which coffees are in which blends. Vote also plays it mysterious: “Morgen” (Tomorrow) is an espresso blend, “adventurous” from Kenya, Ethiopia, and Brazil, and “Gestern” (Yesterday) a classic espresso made from 80 percent Brazilian beans from a women's cooperative and 20 percent Robusta from Guinea. If in doubt, a look at the website will help. In any case, we really like the Vote coffees and they maintain a near-perfect balance between caramel and chocolate notes and delicate fruit aromas. Vote is part of a community roastery (“Communal Coffee”), a network that shares machines, logistics, and enthusiastic employees. Vote founder Philipp Reichel is also the organizer of Coffee Week Berlin in early October (coffeeweek.de). The filter beans are well-known, yet excellent single-origin coffees from Honduras, Colombia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Kenya. Furthermore: The Home Barista Workshop includes a professional who comes to your home, sets up your machine, and explains how to make great coffee. A flat fee of €200 – money well spent. The casually chic café offers a small selection of cakes and pastries.

August Münchhausen, Bremen

Founded in 1935, this traditional roastery impresses with strong espresso, filter coffee from the smallest vineyards, and informative tours of the facility.

A family business since 1935, Münchhausen roasts coffee from the finest growing regions, now in its third generation. They offer over 20 single-origin coffees and espressos, as well as carefully crafted blends, sourced from places like Costa Rica, Malawi, Tanzania, and India. With 34% Robusta, their Espresso Classico delivers a rich body and crema. Münchhausen processes many varieties in small batches to offer a wide selection. They source their green coffee directly from local producers, eliminating intermediaries. Guided tours provide insights into the roastery and key aspects of the coffee process, including tastings and roasting demonstrations. Bookings can be conveniently made online.

Reinholz, Fulda

Heiko Reinholz likes to keep things uncomplicated; the café is relaxed and simply enjoyable with its harmonious, nutty-chocolatey coffees. One of the best German roasters!

Young, uncomplicated, and modern – the coffee shop in Fulda's city center is reminiscent of an Italian café-bar. A long counter, self-service, and, of course, a gleaming espresso machine. We hear that the owner values coffee culture, and so the cappuccino is served with a flourish made of milk foam. But that's not all: Heiko Reinholz also prioritizes direct trade with coffee farms. Three varieties are available to sip, including the popular "Fulda Blend." For sale is an extensive and very interesting selection of coffees and espressos, from places like Peru, Colombia, and Kenya, including organic options. You can even experience the coffee roasting process firsthand at the roastery located in a Fulda suburb. In addition, they offer barista courses and coffee seminars.

Murnau Roastery, Murnau am Staffelsee

Thomas Eckel impresses with his roasts from elite single-vineyard coffees, often bearing the Cup of Excellence seal, prepared in a Faema machine. Both his espresso and filter coffee are top-notch.

Anyone hiking around Lake Staffelsee will find the perfect oasis for a relaxing break at the Murnau coffee roastery's café: In the bright, rustic-modern café, guests can indulge in poppy seed cheesecake, apple cream cake, Oberkrainer cherry cake, moist blueberry cake, or even gingerbread during Advent. And then there's the coffee, carefully brewed on the impressive Faema espresso machine: La Montana, for example, with 30 percent Robusta, or El Castillo, also with 30 percent Robusta. Guests should also at least consider ordering filter coffee, such as the Cup of Excellence Vuega Peru or Sumatera Indonesia, the wonderfully chocolatey and spicy specially fermented Monsooned Malabar from India, or the delicately fruity Suke Quito from Ethiopia. All the coffees are top-quality products, expertly roasted by Thomas Eckel, one of the country's best roasters. Beautiful porcelain filters, French press pots and accessories can of course also be purchased here.

Havelbohne, Potsdam

Potsdamer Melange, Arabica Houseblend, and Italian Roast are especially appealing to espresso lovers. The coffee is served in a café with a 1930s ambiance.

The former Café Junick now operates as the Havelbohne roastery. The roastery is known and highly sought after for its expertly crafted blends, such as the very mild Arabica House Blend with beans from Brazil, Honduras, and Guatemala. The "Potsdamer Melange" espresso blend, with 40 percent Robusta, has a wonderfully strong and nutty flavor. The "Italian Roast" is also a delight, a classic blend with 20 percent Robusta and a lingering aroma of liquid chocolate. Thankfully, the café's decor has remained true to its 1930s style, serving delectable chocolate and fruit cakes, cheesecake, forest berry or apple tart, Linzer slices, larks, and crisp, almond-flavored Florentine cherry tarts. Simply wonderful!

elbgold, Hamburg

A remarkable success story – the two founders now employ 80 people in four branches and are known worldwide for their raw coffee trading.

Annika Taschinski and Thomas Kliefoth started very small in 2004 – with a roastery shop in Hamburg-Winterhude. Now, the two employ 80 people and operate four branches in Hamburg. Their flagship location is the headquarters on Lagerstraße, which has recently been renovated: a few seating tables, but a 13-meter-long terrazzo counter behind which coffee is brewed using every imaginable method, from espresso machines to nitro and cold drip. Four pastry chefs create exquisite cakes and pastries (the New York cheesecake with raspberry glaze is fantastic), and farmers from the coffee-growing regions are regular guests, as Elbgold personally and intensively seeks out the best green coffee sites. Must-try coffees include: Gems of Araku from India, Bombe anaerobic, fermented for 120 hours from Ethiopia, and the Kenyan Ndaroini Gikanda.

Office Scheele, Stralsund

The roastery not only focuses on organic coffee, which is purchased directly from the farms, but also on informative tastings and many workshops for customers.

Machwitz Roastery, Hanover

Top quality for Hanover since 1919. The perfectly roasted coffees from unusual locations are so popular that there are even merchandising products.

Since 1919, the Machwitz coffee roastery, founded in Gdansk in 1883 by Wilhelm Machwitz, has been located in Hanover. The roastery is right in the old town, while the café and shop are a few hundred meters away near the market hall on Karmarschstraße. It's a small but cozy space, and you can enjoy a small but exquisite selection of cakes while sampling the impressive variety and quality of the beans using a French press, filter machine, or fully automatic coffee maker. You can also watch them being roasted on the Probat drum roaster. How about the "Pluma" variety, for example? Its beans are grown in the mountainous regions around Oaxaca and, thanks to the washed processing and medium roasting depth, develop a full-bodied, fruity, and berry-like flavor. Or the "Drei M Crema," made with Brazilian beans, a blend of 80 percent Arabica and 20 percent Robusta, roasted at 208 degrees Celsius for 14 minutes? The result is low acidity and a spicy-fruity flavor with a subtle fruity note. Thanks to the popularity of this family-run roastery, Machwitz merchandise such as model cars and tableware is now also available.

Mainz Coffee Manufactory, Mainz

For almost 100 years, the roastery has been extracting the maximum aroma from the raw coffee beans. Fair trade and commitment to the producing countries are of paramount importance.

In two years, the coffee roastery will celebrate its 100th anniversary. A traditional Mainz company, its products can also be found in select supermarkets around the state capital. The roastery sources its beans directly from small-scale producers at fair prices, without intermediaries. Many of the coffees are certified organic by the EU, UTZ, and IMO Control. At the same time, the company supports the development of infrastructure, healthcare, and the education system in the coffee-growing countries. In addition to coffees from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Kenya, Myanmar, and Honduras, the range also includes the "Meenzer Blend" with a full-bodied, chocolatey-nutty aroma.

Franz Morish, Leipzig

Coffee in a wide range from light to very dark, served in an original café in industrial chic style, accompanied by sourdough bread or fine cakes.

A café with a roastery, or a roastery with a café? This place is unique, founded by Tom Geissler, a former professional footballer, furnished in a rugged industrial style, internationally oriented, with the roasting machine at its heart. Here, high-quality raw beans are transformed through differentiated roasting into espressos, omni roasts, and filter coffees in various roast levels from light to dark, including single origin blends made from 100% Arabica beans. The labels indicate the optimal brewing method for each coffee. You won't find rich cream cakes here, but instead fragrant cinnamon rolls or petit gâteaux made with the finest ingredients, as well as appetizing slices of sourdough bread topped, for example, with a poached egg and fresh salads. A highly motivated, young team.

Frieda Coffee, Flensburg

Need a "mood saver" or a "benefactor"? Kim Bokelmann composes all these blends and many more for the far north, to be enjoyed in the "Frieda" café.

Kim Bokelmann serves his fine filter coffees and spicy espressos, with appealing names like "Wake-Up Call," "Palate Pleaser," or "Powerhouse," at the "Frieda-Café" on the Förde promenade in the Sonwik district. Roasting continues at Philipp-Reis-Straße in Weiche, though there's no on-site coffee service there, but they do offer warehouse sales. We particularly enjoyed the single-origin coffees made from 100% Arabica beans, such as the "Mood Booster" with beans from Guatemala and the "Benefactor," a harvest from Nicaragua. We also recommend the fine blend of various Arabica varieties with 15% Robusta, which delights with its full-bodied flavor in fully automatic coffee machines.

roestbar, Münster

For several years now, Mario Joka and Sandra Götting's "Röstbar" has been at the top in Germany. The five branches aren't just making students happy.

Mario Joka and Sandra Götting have expanded their small specialty coffee roastery to five branches, and their cafés are practically impossible to miss in Münster. And rightly so, because their roasts, made from small, select single-origin beans, are of exceptional quality. The standout among them is Frau Meyer's blend, a favorite of our editorial team, which delivers a nutty aroma and rich crema when brewed in portafilter machines (60% Arabica from Brazil, 40% Robusta from India). Close behind is their organic espresso with 30% Robusta and a delicate orange note. Guests certainly won't go hungry in the cafés (which range in style from student-inspired nostalgia to urban chic, depending on the location). The five-person pastry team offers freshly baked cakes and pastries, and banana bread, cinnamon rolls, and pastéis de nata are always on the menu. Workshops for beginners and experienced baristas are offered regularly. Last but not least, Joka and his team are committed to social projects like the “Light for Uganda”. Again: Applause!

COMAME, St. Ingbert

Customers queue up at Ramon Bachmann's coffee stands – for example, in front of his mobile coffee shops at the weekly markets. The coffee is roasted lightly, resulting in very fruity, delicate coffees.

Since 2018, everything at Comame has revolved around coffee. During the week, the roastery in the industrial park is used for roasting, testing, and packaging for shipping. On Sundays, the small, iconic workshop opens its doors to breakfast and café patrons – in the morning for a "breakfast" featuring extravagant sourdough bread and sandwich creations, and in the afternoon for homemade cakes and exquisite pastries from top Saarland pastry chef Quanah Schott. Ramon Bachmann roasts his coffees much lighter than industrial roasters, allowing him to bring out their fruitiness and acidity. He also prioritizes sustainability and fair prices for producers. At markets, customers queue up in front of his two vintage coffee trucks for an espresso, a filter coffee, or a pack of freshly roasted beans of their choice. New to their selection is organic cascara, made from the caffeine-rich pulp of coffee cherries. As an infusion, it's perfect as a base for iced teas or aperitifs. The roasting mixes are offered in sizes from 120 grams to one kilogram, and on weekdays also in the shop at Kappenstraße 3 in Saarbrücken.

Coffee Men Rider & Schatz, Aschersleben

The creative coffee minds Dominik Rider and Thomas Schatz are constantly inventing new varieties, from "GDR coffee" from Vietnam to "wine coffee", stored in a Saale wine barrel.

Dominik Rieder and Thomas Schatz have turned their passion for coffee into a profession. As "coffee men," they share their expertise with everyone who loves good coffee and values transparency, from cultivation and fair trade to roasting. They maintain contact with farmers like Enrique López Aquilar in Oaxaca, Mexico, and roast their green beans in a drum roaster at their own roastery. Their coffees and espressos are characterized by individual aromas and roast levels. With project coffees, they also support ecological initiatives such as a rainforest project in Sumatra, where the plants for their Orangutan variety thrive—a coffee made from 100% Arabica beans.

Epitome Coffee Co

Australian cappuccino with cupcakes, cold brew with banana bread – served freshly brewed in Erfurt's old town. Skill and ambition: outstanding.

Centrally located, this modern café is distinguished by its minimalist yet personal interior design and international pastries and cakes. An entire shelf is filled with bags and tins of coffees from their own roastery. The cupcake, whose light and airy cake is topped with matcha cream infused with rosewater, dried flowers, and raspberries, is served with slowly brewed cold brew coffee – or an Australian cappuccino, if you prefer. The raw beans come from various sources, including Colombia, for example, for the single-origin Bam Bam made from 100% Arabica Caturra, or from growing regions in Costa Rica and Brazil, from which they also roast blends. A spacious terrace adjoins the building, located directly on the fish market.