It’s not always in big cities where the coffee magic happens. In fact, it’s often in the smaller towns that you find really passionate and dedicated individuals who are putting all of their love and energy into serving truly amazing coffee. As I recently found out while visiting Frankfurt, Mainz and Heidelberg.
While Frankfurt is the big financial and commercial center of Europe, this is where the European Central Bank and many German bank HQs are located and some of the world’s largest fairs are being held, Frankfurt is not necessarily the most exciting place for specialty coffee, bar Hoppenworth & Ploch.
Indeed, the small city of Mainz, which is only 30 minutes by train from Frankfurt is home to a local coffee pioneer who created a well respected and much loved coffee spot in the capital of Hessen. Kaffeekommune, which was founded by Paul Bonna ca. 3 years ago, is now a well respected name in the city that is home to a huge number of students, craftsmen and according to Paul: “a population that is incredibly open to trying to new things.”
Paul started his carreer in coffee at Frankfurt based coffee roasters Hoppenworth & Paul as one of their first ever employees before making a move to London to work at Rapha. That is also where he met Tony Johnson who moved to Mainz to help Paul build Kaffeekommune. Tony said: “I like Mainz because it’s cozy and you don’t feel as lost as you often feel in big London. People here really love their crafts, which makes it really exciting to be part of this community.”
The coffees come from JB Kaffee, another partner of ours, who custom roasts filter and espresso coffees for Kaffeekommune and who has been a huge pillar of support for Paul and his team. The bar set up speaks volumes of how dedicated the guys are to serving only the finest coffees. Filter coffees are prepared on the long part of the counter, being highlighted further by a LED strip that illuminates the carafes from below.
They also make their own cold brews using various beans from JB Kaffee, in particular favouring naturals because they result in a wonderful sweetness. Paul also started venturing into event catering recently by building a mobile coffee bar inside an old van that is currently parked at the ‘Summer in the city’ festival.
Although Mainz has a very long and incredibly interesting history, it was sadly flattend during WWII but a few nice elements remain and invite you to come in an discover. Best to do that after getting your daily dose of caffeine from Kaffeekommune.
