Coffee Guide: 6 tips for really good coffee in Cologne

In Cologne’s laid-back Südstadt, you’ll find the Kaffeerösterei Ernst on Bonner Straße. In the minimalist, industrially furnished roastery, located in the back of the café, owner Maren Ernst roasts on a 5KG Diedrich drum roaster several times a week. More than two years ago, Maren, a former marketing manager, opened Cologne’s first coffee roastery, where the coffee beans are almost exclusively light roasted. In her café, you can find classic drinks, some filter roasts, a changing espresso and nitro, coldbrew with redcurrant juice (highly recommended) and some homemade cakes and snacks. Although the café is located outside the city centre, it is worth a visit, because apart from the outstanding quality of service and coffee at Ernst’s, the area also invites you to explore and linger.

Details:

• Address: Bonner Straße 56, 50677 Cologne
• Opening hours: Mon. – Fri. 8.30 a.m. – 7.00 p.m.//Sat. 10.00 a.m. – 7.00 p.m.//Sun. 11.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
• Website: www.ernst-kaffee.de

 

When you enter the Schamong coffee roastery in Cologne Ehrenfeld, you immediately notice the strong smell of coffee and the vintage charm.The family-run business has undergone little or no remodelling since it opened in 1949, but nevertheless it is always bustling with activity. The roasting operation is the centre of the shop. Whether roasting, selling beans or making drinks, all these activities can be observed in a relaxed manner while enjoying a drink. Until recently, Schamong probably wouldn’t have made it onto a Third Wave café list. Most roasts were more Italian and dark roasted. Over time, however, Shamong expanded its range and now also offers much lighter roasts. In addition to the ambience, the Shamong convinces with its coffees of the week, which are usually very fruity and tangy and are prepared in a batch brewer (mocha master). The price is extremely fair at €1.40 per cup.

Details: 

• Address: Venloer Str. 535, 50825 Cologne, Germany
• Opening hours: Mon. – Fri. 09.00 – 18.00 // Sat. 9.00 – 14.00
• Website: www.kaffeeroester.de

Large windows, wooden benches and tables, beautiful flowers and relaxed guests – not only the ambience of The Coffee Gang is inviting, but also the warmth and openness of the always joking and friendly owners Micki and Sina. In the sunshine, people linger on benches and tables outside the speciality café, drinking coldbrew, affogato or a cappuccino. In addition to a balanced fruity house blend for coffee-based milk drinks, Micki and Sina serve three filter roasts from different, mostly German, roasters. The menu offers the V60, Aeropress, Syphon and single-origin guest espresso brewers. If you have some time, you can try one of the various homemade cakes in addition to several coffees. The New York Cheesecake is said to be the best in Cologne.

Details:

• Address: Hohenstaufenring 19, 50674 Cologne, Germany
• Opening hours: Mon. closed // Tues. – Fri. 8.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m. // Sat. 9.30 a.m. – 6.00 p.m. // Sun. 11.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
• Website: www.thecoffeegang.de

 

After Schamong, Woyton is the most traditional café concept in Cologne. The café chain from Düsseldorf now has various branches in the Rhineland: my favourite is the branch in the Belgian quarter on Brüsseler Straße. At Woyton, most of the roasts are somewhat darker and more classic, but you can also order more fruity, balanced and lighter-roasted coffees (e.g. the filter coffee from Panama or the espresso from Bali). If you can’t make it to the Belgian quarter, we recommend the branch on Breite Straße at Neven-Dumont Carré. Here, too, you can comfortably drink a coffee or put together a salad at the salad bar.

Details:

• Address: Breite Str. 80 – 90, 50667 Cologne, Germany
• Opening hours: Mon. – Fri. 8.00 a.m. – 8.00 p.m.//Sat. 9.00 a.m. – 8.00 p.m.//Sun. closed.
• Website: www.woyton.de

Inside the Heilandt you will find tables and a seating area that is furnished with many details. The café is located in the Belgian quarter and is always busy. In addition to sweet and savoury snacks, you can enjoy over twenty different coffee roasts here. Since 2013, the coffees are no longer roasted in the café, but in the public roastery in Ehrenfeld. Here, interested guests can look over the shoulder during roasting and try out all the coffees. Most of the coffees, especially the espressos, are roasted rather conventionally, but also not quite Italian. Some filter coffees, however, also go into the lighter, fruitier range.

Café details:

• Address: Bismarckstr. 41, 50672 Cologne, Germany
• Opening hours: Mon. – Fri. 8.00 a.m. – 7.00 p.m.//Sat. & Sun. 10.00 a.m. – 7.00 p.m.- Address: Girlitzweg 30, 50829

Details Roastery:

• Cologne Opening hours: Mon. – Fri. 08:00 – 15:30 hrs.
• Website: www.heilandt.de

Fortunately, since last year there has also been a café in Deutz, for which the trip to the other side of the Rhine is worthwhile. Kaffeesapiens is a really wonderfully furnished café with an interesting history. You’ll find the café right next to the trade fair, in the Rheinhallen, the RTL building. The founder Rafet, who himself still works at NTV and is a frahling lover, quickly reached the limit of coffee enjoyment in or around his workplace. So he decided to open Kaffeesapiens and pursue his passion professionally, alongside his full-time job. Surprised, I meet Rafet at lunchtime in the café where he works during his break and serves me a coldbrew as well as a delicious homemade iced tea, a filter coffee. Guest espressos are unfortunately no longer available, but classic coffee drinks and usually 3-5 changing Third Wave filter coffees, for example from Playground Coffee from Hamburg, served in a Chemex. The house blend roasted by Schamong can be enjoyed as a cappuccino or flat white. If you want to go to the Cologne Trade Fair in Deutz, Kaffeesapiens is the best place to enjoy coffee beforehand.

Details:

• Address: Charles-de-Gaulle-Platz 1, 50679 Cologne, Germany.
• Opening hours: Mon. – Fri. 8.00 a.m. – 5.30 p.m.
• Website: www.kaffeesapiens.com