The Best Coffee in Town

As I mentioned in a previous post, it is difficult to find bad coffee in Balingen, or anywhere in Germany for that matter. Most cafés and restaurants have an expensive pump-driven commercial coffee machine that will ensure a consistently decent cup of java. Being the obsessive type however, I have been on a hunt for the very best coffee in Balingen. The coffee fiends among you know what I'm talking about: a cafe with an unreasonably large selection of coffees from around the world which they themselves have recently roasted, and a true Italian espresso machine: the kind where you have to hand-tamp the grinds in a group head, not just press a button.
Okay, so I can't claim to have patronized all the cafés in town - that remains my lofty goal, however. But I have found a great café which is now my favourite, and from where we buy coffee to make at home: Kaffeewerk Zollernalb.

     
You know they take coffee seriously because patrons actually sit beside their roasting equipment and sacks of green (meaning not yet roasted) coffee beans. Among the coffees which I've tried so far, there is a clear favourite: Carmo Estate from Brazil. I don't know why, but I always end up prefering Brazilian coffees. Brazil's coffees are like its people: relaxed and easily approachable, but with flair and a certain something that is hard to put your finger on...  sorry, I drifted off for a second there with the music of Antônio Carlos Jobim in my head... anyway, back to Germany.
Something else that sets this café apart from the others is that it is an undertaking of a local organization which provides employment opportunities for the cognitively handicapped. It comes as a bit of a surprise on the first visit, but the staff are extremely friendly and helpful. It's nice to be able to support a meaningful organization while getting an exeptional cup of coffee at the same time, don't you think? If you visit us, I'll take you to it!
Actually, I think I'm going to go tomorrow; we're almost out of Carmo Estate...