Germany and Coffee- Coffee Culture and History of German Coffee

“Komm, lass uns einen Kaffee trinken“… words I’ve heard my whole life. Come on, let’s drink a coffee. Mornings before a big day, the middle of the afternoon on a shopping trip, or just while sitting and chatting. Germany and coffee go hand in hand. Germans might actually drink more coffee than beer. They certainly import more coffee than any other country, except the United States. Coffee has been an integral part of German culture for centuries. Weaving its way into the political and social scene almost from the beginning. Today, the average German drinks between 2.6 and 4 cups a day, that’s 160 liters of coffee each year!

So let’s brew ourselves a pot (using a Melitta Filter, of course)  and talk about Germany and coffee.

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Germany and Coffee

Depending on your preferences, you either love or tolerate German coffee. Until 20 years ago, when you bought coffee in Germany, you would typically purchase a bag of Dallmayr, Eduscho, or Jacobs MILD roast. Unlike here in my California grocery store, where there is a mind-boggling array of strengths and flavors. And, as a general rule, drip coffee through a filter was standard.

Thanks to single-serving pod machines and the influx of Starbucks, tastes are changing. Instead of sitting down and ordering a little Kännchen, today people are walking around with a Cappuccino in a go cup. But thankfully, an old-fashioned coffee, served with milk and sugar around the table with friends, is still very much “in style”.

Let’s go back a bit in German Coffee History

Chaube, the original German word for coffee, is first mentioned by Augsburg doctor Leonard Rauwolf in 1582 (probably when he was ready for a break). Still, it wasn’t until 1669 that it became fashionable among the elite after “discovering” it in the French royal courts, where it was called Café, and then it jumped to the German spelling Kaffee. From there, it wasn’t long before coffee marketing took off. The first coffeehouses appeared in Hamburg in 1677, in Leipzig around 1694, and finally in Berlin in 1721. And while the Ost Friesen (East Friesians) declared their loyalty to Tea, the rest of Germany embraced COFFEE!

Coffee houses were more than just places to get a caffeine fix. They were the gathering places for intellectuals, and somewhat dangerously in the eyes of the elite, a place for political discussion. However, only men were allowed to drink coffee in public. (Sigh). Women would have Kaffeekränzchen, or “private coffee visits,” in the mornings or afternoons. Generally, these were held in private homes, but occasionally they were allowed in the back rooms of coffeehouses.

The popularity of coffee spread, even to the lower classes. By the 1780s, poor households were drinking coffee in the form of soup, as a way to get through the day. A saucepan of coffee would sit on the stove, and bread dipped in the pot replaced gruel. Naturally, the poor weren’t always able to afford the best beans, so Ersatz coffee (replacement coffee) was made with chicory (which grows abundantly in Germany) or roasted grains to stretch the beans.

Frederick II and the Coffee Sniffers

Frederick William I of Prussia had already declared coffee to be a luxury good (along with tea, chocolate, and sparkling wine), so everyone wanted to drink coffee. However, it’s one thing for intellectuals and the political elite to sit around drinking coffee; these are exactly the sort of people they wanted thinking deep thoughts. Still, it was quite another thing for peasants to enjoy a cup of Joe. And coffee became a political issue. After all, how could social order possibly be maintained if EVERYONE could drink coffee?

They called it the “coffee plague”. This idea that peasants would revel in this unhealthy and extravagant habit! (Why do I hear a similarity to one generation’s commenting on another’s Starbucks habit?) Not only that! They would sweeten their coffee with expensive sugar! And worse, save all of the milk to use for themselves.

And, since the landowners collected tax revenue from Beer and Wine, they were losing money! People were drinking coffee instead of beer!

His son, Frederick II (1720-1785), came up with a solution that would not only put a stop to this outrageousness but also refill the government’s coffers. He imposed restrictions and high taxes on coffee imports. Then he gave the government a monopoly on roasting beans. No longer could peasants buy cheap green coffee beans and roast them themselves with grains or chicory. Only the clergy, the Nobility, and high-ranking civil servants would be allowed to roast their own.

These restrictions led to the emergence of a Black Market. (Imagine sketchy-looking guys on street corners, only with green coffee beans instead of drugs). Peasants were still finding coffee beans and roasting them at home.

Drastic measures needed to be taken. Because Germany was just emerging from the 7 Years’ War, Prussia had too many out-of-work soldiers. Frederick II hired 400 of them and gave them the job of Kaffeeriecher or Kaffeeschnüffler (Coffee Sniffers). Their job was to wander the streets of Berlin, “sniffing” for the smell of roasting coffee. The soldiers wore special uniforms (I’m imagining golden coffee beans on the epaulettes) and could enter any home where they suspected coffee roasting was taking place. The fines for roasting your own beans were stiff, and the sniffers were paid a quarter of the fines, so they were rather enthusiastic about their jobs, and hated by the general population.

In 1785, Frederick II was dead, and two years later, his Coffee Sniffer troops were disbanded. No one missed them.

Public Domain – Die Kaffeeriecher  based on a painting by L. Katzenstein (I love the Maid’s face… I’m pretty sure she made the call)

Coffee as a Luxury Item

By the 1800s, coffee was available to everyone in Germany, but it remained a “luxury item” and would be so through the 1960s. Factory workers and the factory owners came to rely on coffee to quell hunger and increase production. In Silesia, home weavers were especially connected to their coffee fix. They exported their cloth directly to Central American merchants who traded them coffee beans instead of money, giving them access to the finest of brews.

Coffeehouses were still places for people to meet and discuss important ideas, and women continued to gather in the afternoons for a Kaffeeklatsch within their homes.

However, one woman wasn’t happy. 

Melitta Bentz loved her morning coffee. However, according to her son, in a 1949 interview, she would become irritated by the grounds that accumulated in her cup, the coffee pot, and in her teeth. (My Oma made coffee the old-fashioned way. She’d pour boiling water over the grounds in the pot. We all suffered in silence, mostly, hoping we wouldn’t be the one to get the last cup in the pot. So I can appreciate her aggravation.) Frau Bentz experimented with the idea of a filter to let the coffee through, but keep the grounds out of the pot. Her first attempt was with blotter paper from her son’s school notebook. It worked, and by 1908, Melitta had the Patent for coffee filters. She and her husband set up shop in their Dresden apartment, selling them to the world.

Coffee was nicer to drink now, and much easier to clean up! And in her eyes, filters made a delightful cup of coffee.

Economic Miracle!

Coffee consumption increased after the shortages of World War II. In fact, from 1953 to 1990, coffee consumption in Germany went from 1.5 to 7 kilos per person per year. That’s a lot of beans!

Then, in 1954, Gottlob Widmann invented the first electric drip coffee machine,  the Wigomat (short for “Wi“mann “Go“ttlob Auto”mat“ic… rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it?). This marvel of modern technology made the “best” coffee because it brewed the ground beans at an optimal temperature. His machine made brewing a coffee simple enough for anyone to it. And they did.

Coffee Crisis

In East Germany, demand for coffee was as strong as in the West, but the government struggled to stock store shelves with enough of it to satisfy everyone. Until the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union supplied coffee, but after that, the East had to find its own sources. Päckchen from families in the West satisfied only 20% of the need. The GDR ran on coffee. It became THE luxury good that no one would do without. (There is a statistic that claims East Germans spent three times more on coffee than on shoes.) In 1976, Brazil experienced a failed coffee harvest, which meant the East German government had to source coffee elsewhere. Millions of Marks were spent importing coffee beans that were mixed with fillers to stretch them out. The resulting “coffee” was terrible. It even destroyed the coffee machines (It turns out that peas are not a good addition to coffee). This was the final straw for many in the East, leading to protests and a restructuring of East German consumer goods. In Germany, it’s just not safe to get between someone and their coffee

So someone had an incredible idea. Why not set up a coffee plantation in Vietnam? The newly communist country was just emerging from years of war and needed trading partners and an economic boost. Erich Hoenicker himself flew to Vietnam with a delegation and a feast of German delicacies to sweeten the deal. By 1980, the East German government established a plantation in the Dak Lak province, clearing 10,000 hectares for coffee plants. They built settlements for the workers and schools for their children. They sent farm equipment, irrigation systems, and even trained workers to plant and harvest the coffee. In exchange for this incredible infrastructure, East Germany would receive half of the coffee production for 20 years. And it looked like everything was working! But as everyone who has ever planted anything knows, plants need time to grow to maturity. The first harvest came in 1990, just a bit too late for East Germany.

Side Note- According to Katja Hoya, in her book “Beyond the Wall: A History of East Germany“, this was the most effective aid project ever conducted. Today, Vietnam is the world’s second-largest producer of coffee.

 

Coffee and Germany today

Today, the biggest coffee roasters in Germany are still in Bremen and Hamburg. They mildly roast the Arabica beans for companies like Tchibo, Dallmayr, and Jacobs, which you find served all day long in Germany. In fact, the secret to being able to drink coffee all day long is the mild roast!

But things are changing, as they do.

Single-serve pod machines have found their way into many kitchens, along with flavored coffees and stronger roasts. People are as likely to order a cappuccino as a little Kännchen. Starbucks is popping up on every corner (heads up! Starbucks is great for when you are walking around a city and need a bathroom). And while the go-cups are showing up everywhere, fortunately, sharing a coffee with a friend, like at Kaffeeklatsch, is still a lovely way to pass an afternoon.

 

Find more German Coffee Here….

Serve Jacobs, Eduscho, Melitta, Or Dallmayr at your next Kaffeeklatsch!

Cafe Hag MildGermanShop24Dallmayr Classic MildGermanShop24Eduscho Filter KaffeeGermanShop24Eduscho Caffee CremaGermanShop24JacobsGermanShop24Jacobs Meister KrönungGermanShop24Melitta HarmonyGermanShop24Rondo OriginalGermanShop24

 

Jacobs Krönung ClassicDallmayr PromodoDallmayr Coffee Grnd Prodomo,gold,8.8 Ounces

 

References

Coffee in Germany

The Time Coffee was Banned in Prussia

Beyond the Wall- Katja Hoyer