Slow Coffee comes to Switzerland

Slow Coffee is a concrete application of the Slow Food philosophy in the coffee sector. Slow Coffee promotes awareness of coffee, the achievements of cultivation and the variety of flavors. Brewing methods specially tailored to individual coffees, such as the hand filter, the AeroPress, the Chemex or the cold drip, allow the character of individual origins to be revealed. Through Slow Coffee, coffee emerges as a product beyond everyday “sideline consumption” and is recognized and more consciously perceived as a specialty like wine, for example. Away from convenience and coffee in a paper cup. Slow Coffee focuses specifically on direct trade and varietal purity. The generally light roasts, in the spirit of the third wave movement , allow the flavor characteristics of a growing region to come to the fore. Fruit, fine acidity and sweetness complement the roasted aromas and bitterness.

The term Slow Coffee is inspired by the Slow Food movement . "Slow Food is an international non-profit organization founded in 1986 in response to the rapid spread of fast food and the associated loss of culinary culture and diversity of taste." The Slow Food movement strives to protect organic products, promotes regional consumption, addresses sustainability and biodiversity, and advocates for food as a cultural and social value. A central theme is also the craftsmanship and recognition of food production.

The preparation of high-quality coffee using sometimes simple but precise brewing tools has so far been a niche activity for enthusiasts and specialists. However, the transparency of production, the relatively easy accessibility of brewing materials for home users, and a zeitgeist in which organic, transparency, and quality are playing an increasingly important role are the field in which slow coffee is gaining importance. After a coffee avant-garde has been implementing successful slow coffee café concepts in the English-speaking world and Scandinavian countries for several years, cafés in German-speaking cities such as Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, and Frankfurt have followed suit in the last two years. Slow coffee, the Aeropress, the siphon, the Chemex, and the hand filter have cult potential. Not just for coffee enthusiasts! Hardly any major press house has missed the topic of the "comeback of filter coffee" in Germany in the last year (see below).

There are already several cafés in Switzerland that implement individual "alternative brewing methods" (Café Henrici in Zurich, Pfifferling in Basel, ccino in Aarau). And now, Café Frühling in Basel is opening, the first café that consciously focuses on slow coffee!

We're very excited! Frühling is located next door to our Coffee Academy and, together with the coffee makers, will form Basel's new coffee center. Together, we'll develop new content in the Slow Coffee section.

A perfect brew is a synergy between coffee particles (ground), water (quality), temperature, turbulence (swirling), pressure, and contact time (between water and coffee). When this synergy is successful, the brewer taps into the coffee's full potential, which the coffee producer in the country of origin and the roaster have jointly invested.
See also: AeroPress on Tour in the SBB

Press reports on the topic of slow coffee and the “comeback of filter coffee” in recent years: