"Wonders of America": Cocktails and Coffee "on the run"

Studying American cocktail menus or looking at the display of one of these currently highly popular cupcake stores makes me dizzy and longing. So many varieties, such great choices! I have to admit that I don’t know much about cocktails – Gin Tonic, Margarita, Manhattan and Martini and Punch on New Year’s Eve – that’s about it. I have also to admit that I am always overwhelmed how bartenders or "mixologists" succeed in mixing five or more different ingredients in one delicious drink and how they keep track of what is compatible.

Cupcakes are usually being eaten on the streets, from food trucks, or bought in mostly tiny little shops. Coffee is mostly being drunk on the run in America – therefore it’s "coffee to go" or "Kaffee Togo" how a German friend of us calls it. Pastries come with the coffee and are mostly pretty uniform and eaten in a hurry as well.

In contrast, it (still) is a good old German (and even more Austrian) tradition to have coffee & cake in the afternoon. Not on the run, but comfortably seated, either in an old-fashioned "Kaffeehaus" or "Café" or at home with home-made cake and freshly brewed coffee. As a child, I remember that there was no Sunday and no birthday party without coffee and cake in the afternoon. Around 3:30 or 4 pm the table was set with the best fine china and silverware and a cake or tart (baked from scratch usually on Saturday afternoon) and (often) heavy cream stood on the table. If it was a larger group coming together more cake was brought by other guests. If my parents were in a generous mood or didn’t want to stay home
we took a long walk first after Sunday lunch and ended up in a restaurant or café for coffee and cake (or ice-cream for us kids).

A couple of days ago, when we had a fresh rhubarb cake with real heavy cream (not artificial spray cream) and coffee at a friend’s place I was thinking that this is actually a good old tradition and that it will probably die out with our generation. Until a couple of years ago there were quite a few traditional cafés or "Kaffeehäuser" in the city center, now it’s just a handful left. One of the traditional, large ones is still holding the fort on City Hall Square. Since it’s pretty expensive, we sometimes wander along the display and admire all the choices of cakes, pastries, tarts and chocolates and buy one piece to take home. There are no free refills of coffee in the café and it gets expensive to have coffee & cake being served sitting down.

There is another small café in old town with just about five tables in an old-fashioned living room atmosphere and they are famous for their Bienenstich (bee sting cake). Love it. Most cafés modernized in the last couple of years and are also offering lunch. A traditional "Café" didn’t serve full meals and didn't sell baking goods like rolls, pretzels or bread (that’s done by bakeries) but they just produce confectionery and patisserie. Nowadays modern cafés with coffee-to-go and standardized pastries and snacks à l’Americaine are starting to take over in Germany as well. They call themselves "Powwow" or "Henry’s Coffee" and appeal to a younger crowd.

In Austria coffee&cake culture is even more elaborate. And, these guys still keep to their own coffee varieties like a "Brauner", "Einspaenner", "Kleiner Schwarzer" or "Verlängerter" instead of taking over all these confusing, fancy American descriptions like "Latte" or "Skinny Mocha" or "Frappuccino". All come in different sizes (tall as the smallest, followed by grande and venti), with different kinds of milk, flavours, roasts etc., and they are usually so hot that it takes a ten-mile-drive or a three-mile-walk at least until you are able to drink your brew without burning your mouth.

A new trend in America is coffee roasters – like breweries you’ll find them in the neck of the woods now - besides of the qualities of the beans used, they serve really good, hand-crated coffee, drip, french press or machine - you’ve got your choices. This trend of high-quality coffee is bouncing back to Germany – even in Augsburg a few small cafés popped up doing their own roasting and careful preparation. Of course, no free refills, as it is a good custom in the U.S.A. Our American friends never understand, when visiting, why they have to pay for each (small) cup separately.

In Germany fancy percolators have become cool. They weigh a ton, are huge, but grind fresh beans and make fresh coffee at the same time. And, they cost more than a good bike. Also, they are restricted to one cup at a time, which is a big disadvantage in my opinion: Though it may keep people moving and burning calories, somebody always has to jump up from the table to get another cup. There is nothing like a big pot of coffee on the table, preferably a porcelain pot where an old Melitta filter on top did a great job before in producing real drip coffee.

The other days we were in some special place, "Samoca", a coffee roaster with a café operated by handicapped people (under supervision). They have a great variety of coffees to buy as beans or ground and they offer coffee breakfast - a cup of coffee and a croissant - for three Euro. Actually, it would be fair if they would charge more for the "wellness experience" involved. You get slowed down. Nothing goes fast in there, patience is asked for. Not only with the handicapped employees, but in general. Cafés can have a very positive effect as well.