Switzerland’s largest city is home to a vibrant specialty-coffee scene. Here are four can’t-miss cafés making waves in Zurich.
BY TANYA NANETTI
SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT
Featured photo by Wassim Chouak
Zurich, Switzerland’s most populous city, is magic to explore. Lying on the lake of the same name, the city seems almost straight out of a legend, with its picturesque old town, the thousand-year-old cathedral with its beautiful twin towers, and the numerous castles and palaces.
But Zurich is also a modern city, with a vibrant nightlife, an extraordinary food and wine scene, and a wonderful specialty-coffee scene. Specialty has spread through the city like wildfire in just a decade, with many fine cafés and roasters opening all over the city.
MAME Coffee
If there is one Swiss specialty-coffee company that needs no introduction, it is MAME Coffee. Created in 2016 by Emi Fukahori and Mathieu Theis, MAME—which means “beans“ in Japanese—is the physical representation of the founding duo’s love for coffee. For the past decade coffee has simply been at the center of their lives. Born in Japan and France respectively, Emi and Mathieu fell in love with coffee (and each other) in Switzerland. This is where they won their first coffee competitions, where Emi prepared her winning routine for the 2018 World Brewers Cup, and where they train and consult coffee enthusiasts and professionals from all over the world. This is where they decided to establish their beautiful MAME, roasting and serving some of the most amazing microbrews from around the world.
MAME Coffee currently has three cafés, a roastery/training center in Zurich, and two more cafés in Geneva. If you must choose just one place to visit, don’t miss the flagship café on Josefstrasse. You’ll be welcomed with a simple but effective statement: “the best coffee is the coffee you like.“
Take a seat in one of the cozy corners of the café and choose the coffee that best suits your mood. Or ask for a suggestion from Emi (who, when she is not traveling, humbly continues to brew coffee behind the counter) or one of the other wonderful baristas. Rest assured that whatever you choose, you won’t regret it.
Miró Manufactura de Café
Brothers Daniel and David Sanchez founded the Miró Manufactura de Café with a 5 kg Probat roasting machine in a small garage in the suburbs. A lot has happened in the 11 years since. At the time, the world of specialty coffee was almost unknown in Switzerland. Yet Daniel and David, confident in Miró’s potential, managed to steadily grow the company into the outstanding coffee company it is today.
With its flagship café and roastery on Brauerstrasse, its store on HB Central Bahnhofstrasse, the various locations where you can find the Miró coffee truck, and the coffees brewed above the clouds thanks to its partnership with SWISS (which has chosen Miró as its exclusive coffee supplier for European flights), it really is possible to sip beans roasted by Miró anywhere in and above Zurich.
Head to Miró’s headquarters on Brauerstrasse, pull up a chair on the beautiful terrace. Prepare to be delighted not only by the excellent coffees, but also by the exclusive “desayuno” served here every weekend. Their series of creative, plant-based, Spanish-influenced brunch creations are perfect for starting a glorious day of exploring the city.
Auer & Co.
Auer & Co. is one of the local pioneers of the specialty-coffee scene. This beautiful café is housed in an old factory in the center of the city, in a collaborative space run by Impact Hub Zurich (a global community that connects entrepreneurs, NGOs, public institutions, and more). Here, Auer & Co. caters to people in the co-working space, and is also open to the public.
Come here to finish that little bit of work you just can’t leave behind, and to drink delicious beans roasted by Dario Stoop. Formerly head of coffee at Auer & Co, Dario now owns his own microroastery, Coffee Architects. He supplies many companies in the city, including Auer & Co. and its sister plant, Kraftwerk.
Omnia/Ombak Coffee
Walking around Zurich, one would think that specialty coffee here is really a family business, given the many businesses set up by partners or relatives. Omnia/Ombak Coffee is no exception. This delightful coffee shop and roastery was founded by Martin Ponti and his wife, Alista, with the help of their adorable kids, Adam and Aaliyah.
Martin, an AST trainer and Q Grader, spent 20 years of his life in Indonesia. There he fell in love with coffee and with Alista, and there the children were born. The family decided to return to his native Switzerland to establish Omnia/Ombak Coffee, their “coffee paradise,” resplendent in a white wooden look that seamlessly blends Indonesian roots with Swiss precision.
I’ve been in love with Indonesian coffee ever since visiting Bali, so I couldn’t resist visiting Omnia/Ombak Coffee, where I had a chance to meet Martin and chat a bit about why they decided to open a café selling only Indonesian coffee in Switzerland.
“We wanted to bring a part of our homeland to Zurich, and we are very proud that the quality of specialty Indonesian coffee is good enough to do that,” Martin says. “It differentiates us and makes us authentic at the same time.”
Why does he think coffees from Indonesia are so special? “They are special in many ways. They are traditionally very honest coffees, with good body and various flavor notes that work very well with milk. But in recent years they have become clean and interesting enough that they can also be served as single origins, highlighting what is special about each individual coffee.”
And sipping a perfectly executed filter coffee from the Kintamani mountains in Bali, I couldn’t agree more.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tanya Nanetti (she/her) is a specialty-coffee barista, a traveler, and a dreamer. When she’s not behind the coffee machine (or visiting some hidden corner of the world), she’s busy writing for Coffee Insurrection, a website about specialty coffee that she’s creating along with her boyfriend.
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