The German Coffee TraditionCoffee and Germans are inseparable. Germans have been drinking coffee since the Turks introduced the drink in the 1600’s. Bach, Wagner, Goethe, Lessing and Grieg all enjoyed coffee in a famed coffee house in Leipzig, Germany.
German boasts one of the oldest coffee shops in Europe. Coffe Baum is located in Leipzig, Germany and first served coffee in 1694. Another coffee café in Leipzig is the Zimmermannsche Kaffeehaus. Both are famous for their German coffee and rich tradition. After the first load of coffee beans had arrived in Leipzig in 1693, more and more coffee shops began to open.
Outside Coffe Baum you can find a large stone relief just above the café’s entrance. It depicts a A Turk with a big cup of German coffee in one hand and extending another cup of coffee a cherub. August the Strong is said to have donated the relief in 1720. It was here in 1990 that the idea of German unification first took place between Helmut Kohl and Lothar de Maizière.
On the third floor there is a coffee museum which is one of the most important in the world. In the 15 rooms, you can find more than 500 selected exhibits that cover the 300 years of German coffee and cultural history. Among the exhibits are table-roasters and coffee-mills from different eras.
How do they like their coffee in Germany? ”Siesse muss d’r Coffe sein”, says a Saxon proverbial expression, which means that the coffee must be sweet. When the coffee is to weak the spoiled Coffee-Saxons despise it as ”Plempe” or ”Lorke”.
During hard times, Germans were forced to server “sword coffee” or “Blümchenkaffee (flower coffee)” when supplies ran low. These types of German coffees got their names because they were brewed so weak that one could see the sword or flower pattern on the bottom of the porcelain cups. Both types of decorations were found in the famous Meissen porcelain.
A good rule of thumb when making a cup of German coffee can be taken from a this German proverb:
”The coffee must be
As black as the devil
As hot as hell
As pure as an angel
As sweet as love.”
German coffee is treat that every coffee lover must sample. It is crafted, selected and roasted to perfection. In each cup you will find a rich, full-bodied flavor without any bitterness. Germans have long mastered the method of removing bitter flavors in coffee that may irritate the stomach.
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