Stockholm Espresso Club Where the Best is Just Good Enough

I have a new favorite club! Somewhat hidden in a tiny backstreet off Mühlenkamp is the Stockholm Espresso Club. You can see from the outside that this little Winterhud Café is somewhat different. The circular brand logo depicting a monocled man with a top hat and a handlebar moustache suggests that something extraordinary is awaiting you inside.

And it’s true: Hamburg native Benjamin Link and his Swedish friend David Vahabi have been serving the world’s best coffee since 2013. Anne Lunell and Charles Nystrand, two Swedish baristas by conviction, have set out to find just that for their coffee brand ‘Koppi’: they look for the world’s most passionate coffee producers and make sure to buy directly from farmers. They aim to guarantee outstanding quality for customers and appropriate compensation for farmers. Each step - from the cultivation to the roasted bean - is surveilled strictly.

Coffee at Stockholm Espresso Club is the beloved protagonist. Whether it comes out of the grand espresso machine, a siphon or a classic porcelain filter, any of these is fantastic and will possibly make you ask for more. I decided to go with a ‘Silent Shout’ by Koppi and was pleasantly surprised by how mild and soft coffee could be.

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Their focus on the basics is continued throughout their interior décor. Contrasts dominate the picture: white planks and chairs, and a big black chalkboard that discloses David’s artistic talent: the café’s entire menu is accurately written onto it in beautifully elaborate calligraphy. Nothing is left up to chance here, every detail in this café is chosen and set intentionally, just like the exceptional pieces of street art by Detroit’s own Revok or the two big floodlights from 1945. Nostalgic library music underlines the venue’s retro chic character. Real rarities and real good sounds!

Coffee’s only potential competitor: apart from an excellent breakfast menu, their cheesecake is by far one of Hamburg’s best.

I would hereby like to apply to become member at Stockholm Espresso Club immediately! Benjamin Link and David Vahabi have proven their passion, ethic and a very clear philosophy behind their concept, something that you can see, taste and feel as soon as you set foot in their shop. Welcome to the club!