Let’s roll the clock back 10 years.
There’s an article in Sensor magazine about a couple of young dudes opening a pop-up espresso bar at the corner of Gaustrasse and Breidenbacherstrasse.
This news fills me with great joy, given that Mainz is a caffeine desert – with the exception of the oasis that is the Tin Shed on Wheels (and TBH they’re nowhere near Paul’s class..)- and I’m used to getting a decent short black ..er.. doppio on every corner in New Zealand.
Rocked up to Kaffeekommune Eins on 7 Feb, met Sebastian, unintentionally but fortuitously slipped straight into Du and his description of the 2 beans they were using to pull shots – caramel, blueberries… – lead to a moment of indecision, requiring me to go straight for a doppio-doppio.
Wow!
Straight back next day and did all over again before heading back to Aotearoa New Zealand.
Fast forward a year and Paul wins the room2start competition in 2013, stunning the jury with his business model and winning a year of rent-free espresso making at the top of the Gaustrasse at Kaffeekommune Zwei
Which is where we started to get to know each other and where a friendship that I value highly developed.
A year later, he’s drifted down the hill with a loyal customer base in his slipstream to a veritable hole in the wall right next where they’d started and where he’s stayed until today.
And he’s become world-famous in the Gaugass, thanks to my young compatriot and friend Isobel Ewing
He’s got a team of fine young people (Ms Mainz Daily Photo has christened them “The Magnificent Seven”) and they once asked me for a quote for their website.
Spontaneously.
“Seit 2012 ist die Kaffeekommune für mich Familie.”
“The Kaffeekommune has been family since 2012”
So – Paul and the crew – were I in Germany, I’d be down there in the Breidenbacherstrasse with you celebrating.
As it happens, I’m stuck in Aotearoa New Zealand for the next month with this ABOLUTELY SHIT VIEW of the Waimea Inlet from the deck.
But I’ve got a vacuum-sealed pack of Halo Beriti Odysee beans that I brought with me in October ready for the grinder and I’ll fire up our Ascaso Dream, pull a doppio …short black and drink to your health.
Ka nui te aroha me te mihi!
And if you want follow the minutae of a most pleasurable family outing over the years…
https://mainzdailyphoto.com/?s=kaffeekommune
https://mainzdailyphoto.com/?s=paul+bonna
See you in 5 weeks….
Mainz Daily Photo 