German. Hip. Ultra-light Roasts.
Finding a good roaster in Munich was a little challenging but I got lucky and found this spot: Man Vs. Machine Coffee Roasters. On their site, the first thing you’ll see is that they like good coffee, good tea and good people. They already had my attention. It was only about a 20 minute brisk walk to the shop from our place. As you approach the shop, you can see their unique crocodile logo on the window. Walking in, you hear some sweet 90’s R&B jams and the immediately see that they have a clean, hip look. White brick walls, modern light fixtures hanging above the bar, their logo wallpapered on one of the walls and a few pieces of artwork up on the wall. A shiny custom Marzocco, a few great looking pastries and two beautifully bearded guys brewing up some stuff.
As I was taking in the vibe of the place, I noticed their simple look, an easy menu and the funny one liners they had around the shop, as I saw on their site, such as: “Coffee keeps you awake. Like all other important things in life: Friends, your favorite music, a great book, your children, so…don’t complain if you can’t sleep." I ended up talking with Marco, the owner who was there making coffee. He was a tall red headed guy who was nice and carefully explained his offerings to us as well as how long they had been in this space. It was fairly new but they are doing great things so far. It was a fairly small space, so I noticed their Probat roaster right behind the bar and sacks of coffee everywhere. Seemed that they were a little short on space but they made it work.
I decided on the Chelelektu Ethiopian (Natural Process) on the Kalita and their Sure Shot Espresso Blend (Brazil + Ethiopia). Both solid but the pour over was really great. Marco mentioned that they roast even lighter than we do back home and he wasn’t kidding. Bright, fruity & floral notes, a really juicy coffee. Almost better once it cooled down. This coffee as a cold brew would be spectacular. I have to mention the pastry I had here. Not sure how to describe it but closest I can get is maybe a croissant/cinnamon bun hybrid. It was fantastic. Barista mentioned they are a traditional pastry from Hamburg. Reminds me a bit of some of the stuff they bake up at Storyville. Most definitely a healthy amount of european butter in there. Soft, flaky, melted in my mouth. Such a great choice to add to their offerings. I’m sure they fly through these things.
We started wrapping it up and we went down a small spiral staircase in the back of the place that lead down to the restrooms. Kind of cool. We saw Marco getting in his zone too. He plugged in, got the roaster going, popped on his headphones and was getting the roasting process started. We shook hands, I said Danke and told him I’d be back. On my last day in Munich, I walked over again, tried their other ethiopian (Suke Outo OCR/Washed Process) & their Colombian. You better believe I got the same pastry. His other guy was here and he whipped up my little Kalita real quick. This place was really cool and they seem to really have it down. With a lot of subpar italian cafes and "Coffee Fellow" locations sprinkled all over the city, it was nice to see a shop focusing on quality, profile roasting and the sonsumer experience. If and when you find yourself in Munich, find Marco and his crew, grab a brew and know that this is THE place to get a good cup. Cheers!