The Best Coffee in Town
Our criteria for this list are as follows: Quality of coffee, Price, Service and Atmosphere. Several of the establishments on this list are pure coffee bars, but among them are also some cafés that are eager to serve the best coffee possible.
Have you found a coffee bar or café that deserves to be on our list? Tell us, or share in the comments.
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A cappuccino from Double Eye in Schöneberg. Photo: Esbjörn Guwallius/Berlinow
Berlin is not synonymous with great coffee. Is it impossible to get a perfect espresso or cappuccino then? No, but the best places are hard to find – that’s why you need this list.
Double Eye
Akazienstraße 22, 10823 Berlin
Just a hole-in-the-wall with, almost always, a crowd of fans gathering on the sidewalk, queuing for coffee or already sipping on one. You’ll get a perfect cappuccino, milchkaffee, espresso, or one of Double Eye’s special creations for a fraction of what it would cost you to get some awful coffee at Starbucks (the American chain’s branch on Akazienstraße actually had to close due to the competition from this small coffee shop). A cappuccino, served with a complimentary biscuit, is 1,80 euro.
Snacks 
Overall 
Last tasted 10/2012
Godshot
Immanuelkirchstraße 32, 10405 Berlin
At Godshot you’ll meet a barista who’s prepared to discuss coffee with you. That way you’ll always get exactly what you want in your cup. Three or four kinds of coffee beans to choose from. If you’re really into coffee, you can join one of Godshot’s barista courses.
Overall Last tasted 10/2012
No Fire No Glory
The coffee, the atmosphere and the staff – everything feels just right at this café (even the trees have the right height). Choose between coffee beans from Copenhagen’s Coffee Collective, or Berlin’s Bonanza Coffee Heroes. No Fire No Glory moved from Friedrichshain to Prenzlauer Berg last spring. Significantly more seats than before makes the new location even better. No Fire No Glory features a good selection of home made cakes and sandwiches.
Snacks Overall 
Last tasted 10/2012
The Barn
Auguststraße 58, 10119 Berlin
Organic and locally produced are the keywords in this small café/coffee shop, which could be taken right out of “Portlandia”. The coffee is top notch, with perfect temperature and just the right strength (Well, almost always). If you’re feeling hungry, The Barn has a good selection of sweets and sandwiches to choose among.
Snacks Overall 
Last tasted 08/2012
Five Elephant Coffee
Reichenberger Straße 101, 10999 Berlin
On a leafy street, deep down in Kreuzberg, you’ll find this relaxed café and with an in-store coffee roaster. The coffee is superb, and you’ll kill for the cheese cake. If you like their coffee as much as we do, you can buy a bag of beans when you leave.
Snacks Overall 
Last tasted 09/2012
Bonanza Coffee Heroes
Oderberger Straße 35, 10435 Berlin
Prenzlauer Berg’s most popular coffee bar. Bonanza has, well deserved, a good reputation among urban tourist and locals. Their coffee drinks are always of high quality, even if they, like us all, can have a bad day. The enthusiasts that run Bonanza roast their own beans to perfection, and also supplies them to a few of the other coffee bars on our list.
Snacks 
Overall 
Last tasted 09/2012
Antipodes
Fehrbelliner Straße 5, 10119 Berlin
Excellent Kiwi coffee, with organic beans from Kings & Queens coffee roasters in Berlin. Their flat white is strong enough to keep you going all day.
Snacks Overall Last tasted 10/2012
Röststätte
Ackerstraße 173, 10115 Berlin
When you’re done drooling over all the shiny, new espresso machines in the store, head for the café counter and order an espresso. Röststätte serves some of Mitte’s best coffee, roasted by hand in the combined store/café.
Snacks Overall Last tasted 10/2012
Oslo Kaffebar
Eichendorfstrasse 13, 10115 Berlin
Are you missing your Norwegian coffee? Do not despair. Kristiania Espresso might be gone, but Kristian is still making excellent espressos and cappuccinos at his new place, Oslo Kaffebar, just steps away from Nordbahnhof.
In co-operation with Bonanza coffee roasters, the coffee bar has created a special roast – the Oslo Blend.
Snacks 
Overall Last tasted 10/2012
Cafe CK
Marienburger Straße 49, 10405 Berlin
Prepare yourself for a very strong cup of coffee. Cafe CK uses 20 grams of coffee (or more, if you want it even stronger) in every drink. You’ll probably need something on the side, we recommend the carrot cake. CK also has a branch in Voo Store in Kreuzberg’s Oranienstraße, but this review is for the café in Prenzlauer Berg. CK uses coffee beans from Bonanza.
Snacks Overall Last tasted 07/2012
Up and Coming Coffee Bars
The following coffee bars serve quite good coffee, but doesn't make the cut for our list just yet.
Chapter One Mittenwalder Straße 30, 10961 Berlin
Passenger Espresso Oppelner Straße 45, 10997 Berlin
Goodies Warschauer Straße 69, 10243 Berlin
Giro d'Espresso Knobelsdorffstraße 47, 14059 Berlin
St Gaudy Café Gaudystraße 1, 10437 Berlin
The original version of this article was first published on 2010-10-18.
