Berlin has been gathering over coffee since 1721, when its first public coffeehouse opened. By the late 1800s, cafés were places to read the papers, work and argue about politics.
The specialty coffee scene is much younger though. It kicked off with Bonanza opening in Kreuzberg in 2006, followed by The Barn and Five Elephant in 2010, making lighter roasts, traceable beans and filter coffee familiar to Berliners.
Today, great coffee is everywhere in the city. But be warned, Berlin is huge. Plan ahead.
Kolo
Mitte
Kolo Coffee‘s founder Vladyslav Demonenko was runner-up at the 2022 World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, won the 2023 Ukrainian Brewers Cup, took Germany’s 2025 Coffee in Good Spirits title and placed fifth at the world final. Coffee Week Berlin also named Kolo its 2025 Best Specialty Coffee Shop. It can get expensive so ask what’s pouring and what it costs before ordering.
Voo Deli
Kreuzberg
Hidden inside Voo Store’s former locksmith’s workshop, Voo Deli has one of Berlin’s strongest selections of beans from European roasters, like April, Friedhats, La Cabra, MOK, Nomad and Prolog, amongst others. Choose a hand brew and take it into the courtyard, or stay for pastries and seasonal deli dishes. Coffee Week Berlin placed Voo second in its juried 2025 Best Specialty Coffee Shop award, behind Kolo. The discreet Oranienstraße entrance is easy to miss.
Chapter One
Bergmannkiez
Chapter One has been a tiny Mittenwalder Straße shop since 2011, making it one of Berlin’s OGs. The signature order is siphon coffee and there’s a rotating multi-roaster selection. Seating is scarce and food is limited to pastries.
The Barn
Brunnenviertel
The Barn now reaches well beyond Berlin (there’s even one here in Dubai), but, in Berlin, its Wattstraße Annex is the location to go to. It sits beside the working roastery and bakery that supply the group’s cafés, with windows onto two Probat machines. Founder Ralf Rüller started the business in 2010 and built it around single-origin coffees, direct producer relationships and clean, light roast profiles.
Bonanza
Kreuzberg
Bonanza opened in 2006, making it one of Berlin’s specialty coffee pioneers. Choose the Adalbertstraße roastery over its smaller branches. The café is hidden beyond a courtyard, with an oak-and-glass wall separating the bar from the production floor. Bonanza’s light roasting produces delicate, sometimes tea-like filter coffee with plenty of clarity. The 2025 European Coffee & Hospitality Awards named this location Europe’s Best Independent Coffee Shop. Food is limited to pastries.
Five Elephant
Kreuzberg
Five Elephant has paired coffee and cake at its original Reichenberger Straße café since 2010. The Philadelphia cheesecake is the move. It’s baked at the company’s nearby Glogauer Straße bakery and regularly sells out. The coffee is roasted at the same Kreuzberg site. Come early, order the cheesecake with a filter and walk it off beside the nearby canal.
Röststätte
Mitte
Röststätte‘s Ackerstraße flagship combines a café, roastery, Barista Academy and a vast equipment showroom. The espresso blends lean towards sweetness and fuller body, while the filter range moves into seasonal microlots and rare coffees. Berlin’s public voted Röststätte its favourite coffee shop during Coffee Week 2024 and placed it second in 2025. The Hackesche Höfe branch is prettier, but Ackerstraße shows you what Röststätte is really about.
Kaffeekirsche
Tempelhof
Turabi Kocadag founded Kaffeekirsche in 2014. Visit the Tempelhof location. The space is bright, combining a café, working roastery and equipment showroom. The original Adalbertstraße café is convenient if you find yourself in Kreuzberg, but Tempelhof gives you a complete picture of what Kaffeekirsche is about.
Father Carpenter
Mitte
Father Carpenter hides behind Münzstraße in a cobbled courtyard. Melbourne-born Krésten Thøgersen opened it in 2015, and the café has since moved from guest beans to roasting its own bright, seasonal coffees. It’s also one of the few stops on this list where breakfast is a thing, with Turkish eggs, French toast and avocado on sourdough. Book ahead on weekends because the courtyard fills quickly. If you only want coffee, go to the smaller Schönleinstraße bar in Kreuzberg.
Ben Rahim
Mitte
Ben Rahim brings founder Wissem Ben Rahim’s Tunisian heritage to a courtyard near Hackescher Markt. Order the cezwe, brewed in a hand-hammered pot made in Tunisia, with a choice of beans that often includes rare Yemeni coffee. The house rules: no sugar, and no milk in hand-brewed coffee.
North Andes
Prenzlauer Berg
Colombian founder Rodrigo Castillo built North Andes around one rule: every coffee comes from Colombia. He works with producers across regions including Huila, Tolima and Sierra Nevada, then roasts each lot at the company’s Berlin roastery. Choose Tayrona for a chocolatey, low-acid espresso, or the long-fermented Tolima for a fruitier, wine-like filter. The relaxed Czarnikauer Straße café is five minutes from Schönhauser Allee, with further branches in Weißensee and Mitte. Prices remain doable, even when the menu moves into Pink Bourbon and Geisha.
Akkurat
Kreuzberg
Akkurat began when film-production company Akkurat Studios converted its former office into a café, reusing the interior of Hamburg’s closed Tørnqvist Coffee. The result feels more gallery than brunch room, with poured-concrete counters and changing work by local artists. Coffee comes from Kreuzberg roaster Nano Kaffee, and there’s a proper kitchen. So this is a worthwhile stop for lunch. The grilled cheese, and weekly rotating salads and soups are popular. The sunny terrace faces Besselpark.
How to visit Berlin’s best specialty coffee shops
Don’t try to go to all of these. Berlin is too spread out. Group the shops by neighbourhood. That gives you more time to enjoy the coffee and the city around it.
If you have one day in Berlin
Stay in Mitte. Begin with breakfast at Father Carpenter, then walk to Ben Rahim for a cezwe. Continue north to Röststätte and finish at Kolo. The route is manageable on foot.
If you have three days in Berlin
On day one, work north through Röststätte, Kolo, The Barn and North Andes.
Use day two for Father Carpenter, Ben Rahim, Voo Deli, Bonanza and Five Elephant.
On day three, start at Akkurat, continue to Chapter One and finish at Kaffeekirsche in Tempelhof. From there, walk across Tempelhofer Feld if the weather’s good.
If you have one week in Berlin
Visit Father Carpenter and Ben Rahim on day one, followed by Kolo and Röststätte on day two. Pair The Barn with North Andes on day three.
Spend day four in Kreuzberg with Voo Deli, Bonanza and Five Elephant. Day five belongs to Akkurat and Chapter One, while day six takes you south to Kaffeekirsche and Tempelhofer Feld.
Keep the final day free. You’ll want to go back to some of them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best specialty coffee shop in Berlin?
If you want one answer, start with Kolo Coffee. Its competition-winning founder, unusual coffees and precise brewing make it a very strong choice.
Where can I find the best pour over coffee in Berlin?
Kolo is the first choice for rare coffees and competition-level brewing. Chapter One is excellent for alternative brewing methods, while Voo Deli is good for its changing selection of European roasters.
Which Berlin café has the best selection of guest roasters?
Voo Deli has the strongest guest-roaster selection in this guide, regularly featuring names such as April, Friedhats, La Cabra, MOK, Nomad and Prolog. Chapter One is another dependable multi-roaster stop.
Which Berlin coffee shops roast their own beans?
Kolo, The Barn, Bonanza, Five Elephant, Röststätte, Kaffeekirsche, Father Carpenter and North Andes roast their own coffee. Several operate working roasteries that visitors can see or visit.
Which Berlin neighbourhood is best for specialty coffee?
Mitte is the easiest place to begin. Father Carpenter, Ben Rahim, Röststätte and Kolo can be combined into one practical route, with each offering a noticeably different experience.
Which Berlin coffee shop is best for food?
Choose Father Carpenter for a full breakfast or brunch. Akkurat is better for lunch, particularly its grilled cheese and changing soups and salads. At Five Elephant, order the Philadelphia cheesecake.
Can I visit Berlin’s best coffee shops in one day?
You can visit four excellent shops in one day if you stay in Mitte. Covering the full guide needs at least three days, while a week lets you explore each neighbourhood without rushing or drinking more coffee than you can enjoy.
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