Hallo! or Guten Tag!
Einen Kaffee, bitte
EYE-nen KAF-feh, BIT-teh
A coffee, please
Einen Cappuccino, bitte
EYE-nen kap-poo-CHEE-no, BIT-teh
A cappuccino, please
Einen Filterkaffee
EYE-nen FIL-ter-kaf-feh
A filter coffee
Die Rechnung, bitte
dee RECH-noong, BIT-teh
The bill, please
Filter coffee — still the most popular way to drink coffee in Germany. Often served in generous portions.
Half coffee, half hot milk. Germany's traditional 'cafe latte' — simpler and less foamy than an Italian version.
Standard Italian-style cappuccino. Very popular and available everywhere.
Increasingly popular at specialty cafes, especially in Berlin and Hamburg.
A single espresso. Standard quality is high across Germany.
A North German specialty: coffee with rum and whipped cream, served without stirring. The name means 'Pharisee' — legend says it was invented to hide alcohol from a priest.
Germans take Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) very seriously — the afternoon tradition around 3-4pm is sacrosanct.
Berlin's specialty coffee scene is world-class. The city rivals Melbourne and London for quality.
Filter coffee (Filterkaffee) is not a downgrade — in Germany and Scandinavia it's the preferred method.
Many cafes are also 'Konditorei' (pastry shops) — the cake game is as important as the coffee.
Cash is still king in many German cafes, especially outside Berlin. Ask 'Kartenzahlung?' to check if they take cards.
Hamburg imports more coffee through its port than almost any city in Europe — the coffee knowledge here is deep.
Round up or add 5-10%. Saying 'Stimmt so' ('keep the change') is standard.
€2.50-3.50 for filter coffee, €3.50-4.50 for espresso drinks at specialty cafes
Did you know? Germany is Europe's largest coffee consumer by volume. The average German drinks about 164 litres of coffee per year — more than beer.