Based mostly on quite a few standards—together with financial and technological points, high quality of life, and environmental components—town of Zurich, Switzerland is taken into account probably the greatest locations to dwell on the earth. A worldwide banking and finance middle with a year-round inhabitants of round a half-million folks, Zurich took house the latest the highest spot within the world IMD Sensible Metropolis Index, and it’s not the primary time it has reached this podium.
Espresso in Zurich, as soon as a step behind different main European cities, has shortly grow to be extra subtle right here. Locals are a serious a part of this scene, together with of us like Dario Stoop, a Swiss entrepreneur, barista, and roaster that has performed a key half in shaping a few of Zurich’s iconic espresso spots. However the metropolis can also be house to a spread of worldwide influences, together with from my house nation of Brazil—Catherine Queiroz from Neumann Kaffee Gruppe and Giovanna Tonelli from Mame are each Brazilians working in Switzerland’s espresso enterprise, they usually helped level me in direction of a few of their favourite locations for this information.
Auer & Co.
Auer & Co. was one of many first espresso outlets in Zurich to embrace the multi-roaster idea. The espresso store is housed in a former manufacturing facility, a part of which opens onto the Limmat, a river that flows from Lake Zurich and helps outline town’s panorama. Individuals work between tables and sofas, drawn by positive espresso and high-quality meals. “Every little thing right here is actually about group,” Dario Stoop tells me. “It’s a spot the place on a regular basis folks stroll in, curious and open to experiencing nice espresso.”
Stoop has crafted a medium roast that highlights the candy spot of Brazilian espresso beans, making it a perfect match for milk-based drinks. Alongside it, you’ll discover a curated number of pour-over coffees, all sourced from his roastery, Espresso Architects, which launched on the Swiss Espresso Competition in October of 2023.
Kraftwerk
Situated in a former energy plant station, Kraftwerk options an industrial environment and displays the modern, laid-back type typical of Zurich’s western district. This stands in distinction to town’s extra austere middle, the place banks, world manufacturers, and iconic Swiss emblems, like conventional watches and goodies, nonetheless dominate.
Inside, stacked transport containers cleverly divide the spacious corridor into two distinct areas. One part is devoted to work, occasions, and concert events, whereas the expansive entrance space homes the Kraftwerk Café & Restaurant. The menu is primarily vegan, and the espresso program follows the identical idea Stoop developed at Auer & Co.
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Industrial – The Venture
Industrial was based by Nick Spanoudakis, a local of Crete, Greece, who has been dwelling in Switzerland since 2018. Spanoudakis has executed it throughout his espresso profession, which started in 2008. “It’s been only a fixed evolution,” he tells me, “from bartender to barista, supervisor, competitor, cafe proprietor, and shortly, roaster.”
His first cafe opened in 2024, in District 4 subsequent to the charming Bäckeranlage Park, and now there’s a second location on Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich’s fundamental business and monetary avenue. After I visited, Spanoudakis was behind the counter himself, and I tasted some espressos brimming with character—a velvet-glove punch, as wine connoisseurs may say.
The store serves a number of native roasters together with Balloon, Mame, and Rose Espresso Roasters, and maintains a clear, minimalist environment impressed by Japanese omakase. Milk-based drinks are the favorites right here, however the cafe additionally gives hand-brewed filter espresso utilizing V60s, Origami Brewers, and AeroPress.
Espresso
For those who’re in search of a strategic cease to dive into the environment of latest Zurich, that is the place. The cafe, merely named “COFFEE,” leaves little question about what to anticipate: high quality drinks in a small, minimalist area with sidewalk seating, a laid-back vibe, and a cool story behind it.
Co-owners Shem Leupin and Thomas Leuenberger are deeply concerned within the enterprise—each inside and past the glass-fronted cafe, the place the daring “COFFEE” signal will be noticed from a distance. Leupin, who holds the title of Swiss Barista Champion (2013), additionally works as a inexperienced espresso purchaser for the Swiss roastery Stoll Kaffee, which provides the cafe’s beans. Leuenberger, in the meantime, is a recipe developer at John Baker, thought-about Zurich’s trendiest bakery, which supplies their muffins and breads.
With this type of synergy and dedication to high quality, all it is advisable to do is sit down, order an espresso or a filtered espresso, and if you wish to expertise a neighborhood favourite, seize the banana bread topped with a beneficiant layer of Greek yogurt. A must-try.
Mame
Emi Fukahori and her enterprise associate Mathieu Theis are the founders of Mame, a roaster / retailer with three cafe areas in Zurich, two extra in Geneva, and a roastery situated in a warehouse referred to as Das Provisorium. The area as soon as housed a bakery and now serves as a coworking hub for revolutionary meals initiatives in Zurich. On a latest go to to the roastworks, Fukahori defined her method to roasting displays altering tastes in Switzerland. “At first, many individuals in Zurich didn’t actually know what they preferred in espresso, most simply consumed caffeine out of behavior,” she tells me. “Over time, we’ve seen that clients are discovering extra which means of their espresso, creating clearer preferences and a way of what they honestly get pleasure from.”
Fukahori is internationally acknowledged within the specialty espresso scene and attracts many foreigners who wish to work together with her. For those who go to just one Mame in Zurich, make it the one on Josefstrasse, within the western a part of town. And look ahead to upcoming further openings, together with yet one more cafe in Zurich and a brand new undertaking referred to as Kuro Mame in Tokyo.
When you’re in Zurich please additionally discover...
Paulo Pedroso is a daily contributor to Brazilian newspapers Folha de São Paulo and Valor Econômico, in addition to Revista Espresso, a Brazilian specialty espresso journal. Learn extra Paulo Pedroso on Sprudge.
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