An audience with the 2012 Cup Tasting Champion

Cory Andreen is the 2012 Cup Tasting Champion, i.e. the reigning German champion in coffee tasting. Today I'm going to his tiny café on Marienburgerstraße at the corner of Prenzlauer Allee. After my first filtered coffee tests, I can say that I prefer coffee with less distinct lemon notes. Cory's colleague offers me a choice of two light terroir roasts made from varietal beans from micro-climates – and I go for the one with Bergamot and warm caramel. Every small procedure, every move of the hand is precise and well-conceived here at CK, too. First, the natural flavour of the paper filter is washed away with hot water. Then freshly ground, accurately weighed coffee is poured in a thin stream over water that's no longer boiling. The curved grooves of the ceramic filter and the large bottom opening optimise the water's flow-through rate and thus the amount contact between the water and ground coffee.

Smell first, taste later

I'm excited, order myself one of the incredibly delicious looking brownies and chill on one of the grey sofas. Then comes my coffee: What a sight! Served in a decanter with an angular glass like you'd use for whiskey. I pour myself a cup and smell the shimmering brown liquid. And the wonderful aroma delivers what it promises. The filter has captured all of the bitterness and I am relishing pure, slightly chocolaty tasting coffee as I take a look around. Even the cappuccino my companion ordered looks very good. I decide to stick with the filter coffee for today and to attend a coffee cupping, aka a professional tasting some day.

Next stop of my Slow Coffee Week: Westberlin!