Most importantly, an aspiring barista must have a lot of passion and a willingness to learn. If they are starting out at home, they should seek out as much information on coffee as they can. Coffee courses are also a great place to begin because they provide the space to ask questions as well as an opportunity for starters to practice their skills. New baristas should try to brew with other baristas in order to exchange knowledge and techniques since no two palates are the same. I would also recommend finding a job in a coffee shop whose coffee quality the barista really enjoys and to take part in competitions as they tend to boost a barista’s progress.
Beans. The justification behind the trend in filter coffee is that new tools produce really delicious coffee, but the big changes made to the coff
ee scene in recent years lie in the quality of the coffee beans and not in the coffee tools. For example, so-called speciality coffee roasters offer great beans that contain specific aromas and that aren’t overwhelmed by a bitter taste like commercial coffee from the supermarket tends to be.
Tools like Chemex, Aeropress, and Hario v60 allow baristas to take advantage of each tool’s specific elements like the paper filter or a special shape. For example, due to its thick paper filter, the Chemex produces a distinct and sweet but light cup of coffee. In contrast, the Aeropress makes a rich and full-bodied coffee because of the way it’s used. The Hario v60 produces a cross between the former two by creating a sweet and rich coffee. But old-fashioned hand brew methods like the French press or the Melitta filter can also produce good results. The key is that manual brewing methods will always make better coffee than automatic machines, since the coffee brewer can determine all the important brewing parameters such as water temperature, grind setting, and water flow. This individual treatment given to each batch is not possible with an automatic machine and therefore creates a suboptimal result.
My personal favorite manual brewing tool is the Hario v60 since it’s very simple and quick.
Sweet, clean, fruity, and distinct.
Berlin is actually packed with great coffee places, so this is a tough call. For the most exemplary coffee around, I would recommend the following spots:
Coffee Profilers: A recently-opened coffee shop that is a Berlin-Greek cooperation. They have a great selection of espresso and filter coffee, and some of the awesome baristas here have won world championships.
Companion Coffee: A tiny and very stylish coffee bar in the fashionable Voo Store that serves espresso from the best coffee roasters from around the world. The great thing about this place is that every day a new espresso surprise is waiting for you.
Ben Rahim: A cozy shop that serves very tasty coffee in the great location of Hackesche Höfe. Ben Rahim is probably the only speciality coffee shop that offers traditional Turkish Mokka coffee, which everyone should try!
Nano Kaffee: This sleek and well-designed coffee shop works with a variety of different roasters, giving customers a wide range of coffees to try. I have had some of the tastiest filter coffee in Berlin here.
Father Carpenter: One of the best coffee shops in the city center (also near Hackesche Höfe). The atmosphere is great and the baristas are absolute pros. I definitely recommend the flat white as it's consistently delicious tasting.
Hannes will be leading our new Coffee & Barista Course that will take place over three sessions on September 9th, 13th, and 16th. Together with Coffee Circle, we'll teach you all about roasting and tasting, how to make the perfect espresso & latte art, and how to brew a great cup of filter coffee at home. Sign up before September 1st to get our Early Bird Special! www.betahaus.com/berlin/coffeecourse
Well, both. Currently we offer the following two options: shorter publicly available Brand Playlists and long-form private Soundtracks for spaces. For both of them we work closely with the client to understand how sound fits into their brand DNA and what their audience is like.
We believe that the guests’ experience with a particular space doesn’t have to begin and end with their stay. The idea of the Brand Playlist is to be a public brand playlists designed to engage the customers before, during, and after their visit at a space. It’s always accessible for them and serves as a new, dynamic marketing channel.
The Soundtrack is slightly different. It takes sometimes up to weeks of work and is designed by a world-class artist, DJ, or tastemaker. For it we first work with you to develop a deep understanding of your business and style. Then we match you with the perfect artist, DJ, or tastemaker to create unique, always fresh playlists, custom tailored to match your brand.
In both cases, we update them regularly based on guest habits and clients’ needs.
The way we engage with the music community is something really important for us and honestly, what makes us different than other background music providers. A lot of the background music providers out there have internal teams of maybe five or six DJs that do all of the music for their clients. We aim to connect with the local scene and always work with local DJs. There's some kind of magic in finding the exact right artists for the brand.
And on the flip side of it, when we hire artists, we make sure that the project is also inspiring for them and that they would be interested in participating. We always make sure to pay them well. The whole project creates for them a new income stream that they wouldn't have otherwise.
Yes! This was really fun. The objective with the betahaus "betabeer sounds" playlist was to showcase the community side of betahaus. There are so many cool, interesting people in the betahaus community and we thought a playlist could be a perfect way to not only help bring the community together but also show the diverse funkiness of the communities of Berlin and Neukölln, which is why Hazy Pockets, a longtime local Berlin DJ known for his eclectic mixes, was perfect for this project.
This playlist moves from bluesy 60s rock into surf and tropicalia, picking up momentum into Motown and onwards through some laid back disco tunes. Perfect for the betabeer events betahaus hosts monthly!
Oh, there are just so many! Like the Imren Grill for instance where you can find the best homemade Turkish food or Das Gift and Gordon which are both run by great music people. Kohelenquelle in Prenzleuer Berg is my favorite local bar (or rather kneipe). To satisfy my techno / electronic records needs I always go to Hard Wax and one of my most special places is the Zions Kirche steeple, which has an awesome view of the city and a great Weinerei close by.
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