My dear friends,
If you ever asked me to answer you without evasion & with my hand on my heart..
– Dear Panos, where can we find the best coffee in Zurich?
Please, Panos, we don’t ask you about the interior and the atmosphere.
Also, we don’t want your review for the service,
the music or the cinnamon buns.
We also ask you to forget your photography obsessions
Just tell us honestly where in your opinion we can enjoy your “favorite cup of good coffee” ?
Of course my friends, I have the answer.
And I’m absolutely sure of it.
If you ever pass through Zurich as a traveler…
Or if you live in the city but haven’t had the opportunity to visit.
Then…go to…
And of course, I know that wouldn’t be enough for you.
You’ll be ready for the next question:
Dear Panos, can you give us a single reason to go there?
What’s so great about the coffee there?
Aren’t you exaggerating a bit with the “favorites”?
My answer comes without any hesitation.
“The best coffee is the coffee you like.”
Yes, folks, that’s my motto.
And that’s the motto of MAME.
“MAME” means “beans” in Japanese.
I find the name extremely clever and powerful for our brains to absorb.
But its translation is the one that answers your question perfectly and I will explain why in a moment.
Emi Fukahori & Mathieu Theis
A Japanese and a French (who studied sciences not related to coffee) are the owners.
They were having so much fun making coffee at home and one day they decided to do what they really wanted to do.
What they love.
That information to me is a good reason to visit a place.
The vision of some people who know what they want out of life and are not afraid to make it happen.
I’m lucky because in the amazing Seefeld area where I live I can have a MAME coffee with a ten-minute walk.
Seefeld is an area full of expats that starts at the opera house and continues from the lake to the Tiefenbrunnen area.
From there I buy my Colombian pearl coffee beans …. every Thursday.
There I ordered takeaway cappuccino to go for a walk on the Adlisberg mountain in the hard times of the last two years.
And From here I write to you now drinking the most delicious hot matcha latte.
There is another elderly MAME sibling in the fifth district near the main train station.
An area with interesting shops and concept restaurants. Full of creativity, a vibrant neighborhood of locals.
My Swiss friends love it more. If you are lucky you can listen to the list of Latin songs prepared by the barista from Mexico City.
Behind the bar, there is a map in pale colors to help you figure out which of the coffee beans suits you.
Of course, you can have a nice chat with the people who work there who are always willing to explain things to you, even when it’s busy.
So be patient and wait for your turn.
If you want something classic, the chocolate approaches are the ones for you.
But if you want to take a little risk, you can go for the fruity options.
And if you are naughty and rebellious then ask the baristas for the craziest floral beans.
On the menu for those who don’t compromise easily and want it all here and now …
..there is a choice of three combinations of coffee.
Served in three different cups on a wooden tray, with a golden spoon.
The triangles my dear naughty friends are always more interesting. Right?
It’s worth experimenting.
What I can definitely guarantee about the people at MAME is their professionalism.
But you of course ..as devil’s advocates are asking me?
Panos, we are tired of hearing only good things from you.
We’re sure there are negatives that could be corrected.
Be more honest and tell us what they are.
Yes, of course, you are right, we are here to talk about them too.
But I only have one to mention.
(In the Seefeld shop during lunch ..they offer an attractive menu with delicious choices.
The smoke from the kitchen is so strong inside that sometimes they cancel your need for coffee.
The smell of spicy chicken with bacon covers everything & you don’t know if you are in a tavern or a cafeteria.
You are there to have a professional coffee experience on many levels.
How can you ignore the smell?
I think a better hood in the kitchen will solve the problem .)
In conclusion, I would just like to say this.
In this wonderful world, low-quality coffee processing and consumption is the most common phenomenon.
Coffee experts say that 80% of people on the planet buy low-quality coffee because they don’t know.
But if my friends find someone to train you how to recognize the pleasure that a cup of good quality coffee gives…
then there is no way back.
Feel free to put yourself into the arms of a new love.
Loosen up, ask, learn and enjoy.
Anyway, even if you disagree with my approach, keep only this in your mind :
“The best coffee is the coffee you like.”
Speaking for changes in humanity and coffee mugs … Enjoy the most revolutionary scene of the metoo_movement.
One of the most beloved scenes from the 1933 film “Baby Face” with the amazing Barbara Stanwyck.
~ How are you, Lili?
~ I was great up till now.
~ I don‘t often get to see you alone.
~ “Oh, excuse me ..my hand shakes so when I’m around you.
