You might not think of specialty coffee when thinking about Frankfurt. For many, tourists and businesspeople alike, the airport, the skyline, the stock exchange, the Frankfurt Trade Fair, and the banking district areย all Frankfurt is known for. ย A small but growing specialty coffee scene is evolving in the past couple years nevertheless.
Coffee is hardlyย new to Frankfurtโs inhabitants, though. Frankfurt โgrew upโ with two very traditional roasters: Wacker’s Kaffee, opened in 1914, and Wissmรผller, founded in 1948, are two iconic roastersย served at restaurants and cafes throughout the city. Viennese-style coffee houses, like Cafรฉhaus Siesmayer located at Frankfurtโs Palmengarten, a huge botanical garden in the city center, serve German cake and coffee (and also Frankfurt specialty “Frankfurter Kranz”)ย to this day. And almostย every one of the museums located along the Main riverside also has its own cafe that invites visitors for cake and coffee after their museum tour.
The international community in Frankfurt is to thank for openingย the city’s doors toย specialty coffee. Frankfurtโs coffee drinkers are curious and keen to try new coffees and brewing methods at places like Brรผhmarkt, Hoppenworth & Ploch, Aniis, and The Holy Cross Brewing Society.
Brรผhmarkt
Three cafes, three ladies. Natalia Konstantinova, Yulia Yanyuk, and Esther Gossmann are the three owners of the threeย Kaffeewerk Espressionist shops. Their newest shop, Brรผhmarkt, opened in October in Bockenheimโlargely a students district, since Frankfurtโs Goethe University is located there. Brรผhmarkt is focused on filter coffee, as the name suggests toย the visitor. The menu and several blackboardsโgiving an overview of the aroma profiles of each coffee servedโinvite the specialty coffee lover to try coffees from their huge varietyย of filter coffee equipment, like Kalita Wave, Chemex, V60, and syphon. The shopย showcasesย coffee beans from around the world, like those roasted by Johannes Bayer of Munich, Quijote of Hamburg, Backyard Coffee from Frankfurtโs roaster Wolfram Sorg, and Tim Wendleboe of Oslo, Norway.
Both coffee beans and filter equipment are displayedย on large wooden shelves inside of the cafe. “Even if it is not on our menu, you can try every coffee brewed with any equipment we sell,” says Grossmann. The espresso-fancying coffee drinker still gets their caffeine kick hereโfreshly groundย with a Mahlkรถnig K30 Twin, espresso is madeย on a La Marzocco Strada EP sitting in the middle of the counter, surrounded by delicious sweets and pastries from a local patisserie. Several breakfast options awaitย the hungry visitor as wellโmainly students and Bockenheim residentsโin the morning.
Hoppenworth & Ploch
Matthias Hoppenworth and Julian Ploch are the trailblazers of specialty coffee in Frankfurt. Opening their first cafe on Goethe University of Frankfurtโs Westendย campusย in 2008, they started roasting coffee a couple years later and opened their second shop, a coffee roastery with a cafe in Frankfurtโs hip Nordend, in May 2014. This, too, was something totally new for Frankfurtโs coffee fans, with its huge wooden table right in the middle of the cafe opening one upย to interesting conversations with strangersย across the table. You can’t missย the Probatย roaster showcased in the back of the shop as well. Roasting once a week, Hoppenworthย and Ploch import their beans directly from origin. Some ofย their carefullyย roasted coffeeโ”We roast as light as possible,” says Hoppenworthโhas been used byย German baristas in several championships, including just recently at the Brewers Cup in Munich last November.
In cold winterย temperatures, visitors of “Hopplo”, as everyone in Frankfurt fondly calls the cafe, opt forย cappuccinos and flat whites made with a La Marzocco Linea Classicย alongsideย (mostly V60-brewed) filter coffees. The open counter with the Linea, an รberย Boiler, and a Mahlkรถnig grinder invites the visitor to take part in the brewing and making of his or her coffee drink. The homemade waffles addย a nice smell to the atmosphere and a delicious taste to the coffee served at Hopplo. An interesting addition to the coffee menu is a Japaneseย matcha, prepared in the traditional style.
Aniis
Located in Frankfurtโs booming Ostend district, just around the corner fromย the new European Central Bank, Aniis is one of the youngerย specialty coffee shops in Frankfurt. The cafe’s nameย is lent from aย Moroccan phrase for “good friend or companion,” Rachid El Ofairi, the owner, tells me. And you can feel exactly that; the hospitality and friendliness that is served with every cup of coffee either filter brewed with V60 and AeroPress or pulled from the La Marzocco Linea PB for milk beverages. A Mahlkรถnig EK 43 and two Anfim grinders prepare the coffee beans from Johannes Bayer and Backyard Coffee. But, Aniis is not just a good place for specialty coffee, it is the place for delicious homemade food, be it either the homemade cakes, or the various Moroccan delicacies like hummus, zahluk, couscous salad, and more that are prepared freshly every day. For the breakfast lover, homemade jam can be added to that list as well. ย Moroccan-style mint tea and Prana Chai areย amongย the tea options served at Aniis.
The shop itselfโthe industrial style, the design, and interiorsโis all based on El Ofairiโs creativity; you canโt miss the huge photo on the wall exclusively designed for this place of Spanish artist Antonio Mora.ย Aniis is one of those few places where you can not only feel the passion for coffee, but the personality of its owner.
The Holy Cross Brewing Society
This place with the long name is Frankfurtโs newest spot for specialty coffeeโjust opened in December and located in the city center close to the Main River and the dome. The interior of the shop is highlighted by black and white details like bricks and tiles on the walls, the tables, stools, and lamps; an industrial style inspired by old train stations.ย The location itself is a wide space with an almost round counter style that you might have seen in some specialty coffee places in London or the North American West Coast before, but not in Frankfurt. The U-shaped barย showcases not only homemade cakes and some sweets, but also a customizedย Kees van der Westen Spirit andย Mahlkรถnig EK 43 and Mazzer Robur E grinders. The Holy Cross Brewing Society is the new shop of former Kaffeemacherei owners Mathias Stalter and Carlaย Lutzย that were looking for a larger space to serve great specialty coffee from around the world.
Here you can choose from coffee beans roasted by Machhรถrndl of Nuremberg, Mahlefitz of Munich, Square Mile Coffee Roasters of London, Hoppenworth & Ploch, Backyard Coffee, and The Barn of Berlin. This wide varietyย can be tried either as espresso-based coffee drinks or brewed with V60, Kalita, and AeroPress. Statler tells me:ย “Our guests should be able to benefit from the varieties in aroma and flavor; we would like them to try new coffees more often.” While you’re here, flip through the latest issues ofย Standart and Drift, stylishย magazines which focusย on the world of coffee.
Melanie Bรถhme is a freelance journalist based in Frankfurt, Germany. Read more Melanie Bรถhme on Sprudge.