Berlin’s True Coffee Heroes

Cursive letters that reads, Bonanza Coffee Heroes, on the greyish blue painted walls could be easily mistaken for a stylish boutique. Its minimal, yet stylish interior and exterior attract one’s eye, but the smell of freshly brewed coffee makes every passersby of Oderberger Straße a coffee addict.

While for most foreigners the Barn’s name associates with the third wave coffee in Berlin, in fact, Kiduk Reus and Yumi Choi, baristas behind Bonanza, were the first to bring the legendary coffee movement to Berlin. This original roaster has been setting standards in the German capital for almost a decade and its coffee beans can be found in many coffee shops in Berlin.

The inspiration behind Bonanza is London and one of the first specialty coffee shops, Monmouth Coffee Company. Monmouth is well known internationally for its approach to roasting coffee from single farms and directly trading coffee beans. While nowadays we can easily find specialty coffee shops on almost every corner, before the mid-2000s it would be a hard task to find a good cup in Berlin.

Bonanza Coffee since opening in 2007 has become a hectic hub of coffee activity, with fanatics tracking its every move (and a number of them is rapidly growing around Berlin). Bonanza buys beans directly from Ethiopia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Kenya, Indonesia, and Colombia and pays a significantly higher than fair-trade prices. The baristas really know their beans and guests are encouraged to learn more about coffee, different ways of brewing and taste notes in their cup. Elevated brewing space makes baristas and an espresso machine the most important part of the coffee shop. Filter brewing space is in the middle of the café that draws everyone’s attention when the coffee is being extracted.

The coffee shop looks like a retransformed factory with its rough walls and metal bar tables. Bonanza café can become very busy and all the seats can be filled quickly. But once you have your seat, there is some kind of tranquility with excellent choice of tunes in the background.

A selection of Ethiopian and Columbian coffee is available either you go for a simple espresso, or a beautifully texturized flat white. A chosen light roast of Ethiopian beans by Bonanza fully develops all the flavours and juicy taste of red berries. A shot of espresso, accompanied with Landliebe milk, bottled 575 kms away in Köln, creates a silky smooth latte or cappuccino.

Berliners commute from all over the capital to Prenzlauer Berg in order to savour the distinct flavour of their coffee. Despite being praised as coffee masters by locals, Bonanza draws a big crowd of international clientele, as these coffee heroes very well understand what makes a bloody good cup of coffee.