Drift, Issue 13 – Berlin

Coffee sits in the background of some of the most important moments in our lives: the first time we told new friends we’d like to get to know them better, a second date, a business meeting, a passion project completed, a time we caught up with long-lost loved ones after years apart. More than anything else, coffee is tied to a sense of place and a sense of community.

Drift is about coffee, the people who drink it, and the cities they inhabit. Our collection of writers and photographers, alongside coffee shop owners, baristas, streetcart vendors, and patrons, capture a glimpse of what it’s like to drink coffee in a city at the time the magazine is printed. Each issue highlights a different city.

It’s about wandering the streets aimlessly, cup of coffee in hand, and learning more about what a place has to offer, whether you’ve been there for 25 minutes or 25 years. Coffee helps us chart the geography of our cities. It’s about seeing those cities with fresh eyes, as visitors or long-time residents, and trying to understand what makes them tick.

In this issue:

Drift Volume 13 explores the kiezkultur—the neighborhood culture—of Berlin. The German capital has become a magnet for young creatives from all over the world, making it one of the most vibrant metropolises of Europe. Welcomed by local Berliners, this multinational cast made its home in every corner of the city, bringing to these neighborhoods unique perspectives and new purposes, as well as the third wave of coffee. From Oderbergerstrasse in Kollwitzkiez to Friedelstrasse in Reuterkiez, these pages introduce the many people and places that make Berlin not only an exciting place to be creative, but, because of that, an increasingly better place to drink coffee.

Drift, Volume 13 includes:

• A Dutchman, bored of his career in advertising, moves to Berlin, opens one of city’s longest-running roasters and earns the nickname the “Probat whisperer.”
• Enjoying kaffeklatch—coffee chat—at three Berlin cafes, where you can indulge your sweet tooth along with an afternoon pick-me-up.
• In Neukölln, coffee shops are finding their way to sustainability and zero waste.
• A march through history, from the days of the Prussian empire through the Cold War, and into the modern-day cafes in the old tenement blocks of a city divided.
• Once a gathering place for German Jews, coffee shops have, once again, become an important home for Berlin’s Jewish culture.
• Remembering an airfield that saved Berliners in the winter of 1948. Can it be relevant again today?
• And more…