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Munich's coffee scene is less flourishing then Vancouver's in many different ways. North America simply is way more open for innovation and entrepreneurship. As a result every industry that becomes popular is a playground for entrepreneurs that are willing to give their best and test their luck.
Coffee was the rising star a couple of years ago in North America and still is. Although many of the original roasters vanished over the years there is still a strong entrepreneurial vibe that lets people open new roasters like Timbertrain or Rocanini every now and then. But on this tough and difficult market only the strong survive.
Munich is not different and currently pretty much dominated by large roasters like Dinzler or Burkhof which produce under sub brands for different distributors or coffee shops or just sell their own signature roasts to cafes.
Large scale roasting does not necessarily mean that there is a lack in quality but it definitely shows a lack in individuality and variation.
There are however some refreshing examples of highly individual and perfectly roasted coffees in Munich. The newest member in this exclusive club is Mahlefitz. Creative genius behind the concept is Sebastian Lösch a well known german Barista and Latte Art champion.
Mahlefitz focusses on the upper end of the quality scale by roasting only the finest green beans available on the german market in a special cyclone roaster. Sebastian slow roasts every batch to the exact right point where it develops its best aromas. the result is astonishing and not at all what you would expect from coffee. A bright amber color and a smooth but fruity finish are Mahlefitz's coffee at its best.

freedom of extraction

The only thing standing between a perfectly roasted and ground coffee and a pure and simply perfect beverage is the extraction.

Adding water with the right temperature, pressure, time and amount is crucial for any coffee no matter which brewing system is used. Alpha Dominche took the perfect extraction to the next level and created the so called steampunk brewing system.

What Alpha Dominche calls freedom of extraction is a high tech fully automated brewing system that is computer controlled by the Barista. The touchscreen controls let the Barista choose every detail of the extraction process and the machine is able to repeat it perfectly over and over again.
Wanna try different grounds or roasts? Adjust your brewing profile on the fly, save preset profiles and get perfect results every time.
Filters and brew heads are made from stainless steal and glass to offer the least possible alteration of the original product. This machine simply creates the perfect cup of coffee every time.

Don't get me wrong here it is not a fully automated coffee brewing system that can work without a barista. The Steampunk needs a Barista to set the brewing standards it uses. Instead of taking away the Barista it is promoting him from manual labourer to operator. It offers the Barista the possibility to precisely adjust the brewing variables in order to pour the perfect cup. Then it takes those parameters to repeat the process.
It is not a step towards automatisation, it is a step towards precision.

good wood

There are some recent trends in espresso machine production, some more obvious than other. One of the most common is the return to natural materials integrated beautifully in the designs of the espresso machines. Furnishing standard machines with custom wood parts is already common in high end shops but some manufacturers drive individuality to the next level.
They rebuild the body of the machines entirely or even bother rebuilding the technical parts. Such alterations used to be exclusive to large manufacturers.
Most of the examples seen at the event were rebuilt La Marzocco machines. But of course the real deal is an entirely new Slayer...

Parts of the Linea Classic with Strada Brewheads and a beautiful bodywork

Strada with custom body and fully teflon coated metal parts

Well... just a Slayer

weekend at Pike's

Last weekend the SCAA staged an event in Seattle which was probably one of the largest specialty coffee events of the year.
As Seattle is not too far away I took the Greyhound bus to check out what's new and awesome!
Saturday night I decided to stroll the city and visited Pike Place Starbucks which is the original Starbucks shop. Its heritage seems to be important to the company so they even name a blend after that specific location. And of course the place was crowded! From what I heard it always is but when there is a large scale Barista event in town... well, do the math.

The market itself is stylish in a distinct old-fashioned way and seems to be an entertaining location to hang out during  daytime. When I arrived it was almost closed so I did not get the chance to just watch people and let the time fly by.

On my way to the Hotel though I passed Seattle Coffee Works, one of the many fine coffee roasters the city is home to. 
A little event, kind of a barista jam session, took place there that evening but as I did not have my event accreditation yet I couldn't join them. So sad...
So back to the Hotel recharging the batteries for Sunday.

More on the event soon, just a small spoiler...

gas station

There are all kinds of vehicles in this city as there are in any other great cities, but everything seems kind of special in Vancouver.
The most expensive cars you see on the street are not driven by some mid life crisis men, but carry a tag that indicates the driver as "learner".
The bike lanes that are spread all over Downtown are hardly in use as there are not many road bikers. If you want to be one though please follow these instructions!
If you don't have your own vehicle there are plenty of public transportation options.
The bus lines which are very complicated and change due to road construction.
The skytrain which is fast and usually on time but has only three lines.
The sea bus which connects north van to the rest of Vancouver.

Well, for most purposes I prefer my own nice used hybrid bike. But when I grow up and think about buying a motorized vehicle it is good to know that this city has gas stations everywhere...

moja coffee roasters

moja is one of the rising stars with a brand new, very modern, clean and stylish facility in north Van. Well maybe it is not brand new but it looks like it has never been used.
As coffee roasting is a business with lots of dust, grease and dirt it is quite rare to find a roaster that actually shines in the light.
Also they have a kind of open shop concept with a huge window to the roasters. So while  you are experiencing a great cup of coffee or espresso from their Simonelli porta filter you can watch how the beans are roasted.
Many baristas I talked to call Moja the best coffee roasters in town. I have actually only tried their espresso which was rather light roasted for my taste but therefore fruity and fresh.
Also the guys at Revolver serve the Moja beans from time to time so check it out!

  

musette

A bike friendly coffee shop in the middle of downtown but only accessible through the parking lots of the back alley on Burrard and Drake is a real highlight of Vancouver's coffee culture. Not because the beans are special, they buy from 49th Parallel, but the atmosphere is something completely different.
Authenticity is the main topic one should focus when visiting this place. It's bike friendly so you are allowed to bring your bike in and they even have lots of bike fixing tools provided for the eventual pit stop.
Musette really loves bikes so the store offers a whole lot of merchandise for bikers. Water bottles, shirts, toques, helmets, sweaters, socks, you name it... anything a real Vancouver road biker could desire.
They even integrate bike parts in the interior of the shop which is pretty stylish.
So are the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies with rock salt... delicious!