Bald Neu, Munich

Coffee is not about celebrity.

George Clooney stares at us as we enter the café. The one-time Batman star (the one with the rubber nipples) may hawking Nespresso machines these days but there’s no sign of those multi-coloured capsules here (thankfully). Instead Bald Neu is one of the few coffee bars in Munich that actually serves Third Wave-style brews.

This is no mean feat considering the Bavarian capital is heavily influenced by their southern neighbour (cue copious amounts of bold Italian espressos). Berlin may be the centre of German specialty coffee but Munich is keen on catching up. Cafés like Bald Neu lead this positive trend.

Opened in 2012 by Maksim Dubilej, Bald Neu has a rough-and-tumble look about it. The décor seems haphazard and unfinished but this sort of lo-fi ambiance does attract hipsters in droves.

It doesn’t really matter because the coffee is awesome. From the cappuccinos to the pour-over brews, every cup arrives at your table after much care in its creation though the seriously cool (or do I mean coolly serious?) baristas maintain an air of nonchalance. Given that they are Germans, trust me: nonchalance here means focused craft.

When we leave, we notice young families with toddlers and babies in tow arriving for their weekend cuppa. The sun is out. (Bald Neu is happily on a street called Sommerstraße, meaning “summer street” in German.)

Even Nespresso-sipping George Clooney would approve.

德國的咖啡文化深受鄰國意大利的影響，
不過近年來隨著第三波咖啡文化的衝擊，
精品咖啡館也開始在這啤酒的國度漸漸地普及化。
在德國說起第三波咖啡館，人們一般都會先想到柏林，
不過這趟慕尼黑之行，卻讓我們意外的發現這巴伐利亞的首府，
也出現了幾家很不錯的咖啡館，
其中一家就是於2012年開業的Bald Neu。

斑駁的墻壁，隨意搭配的家具，
Bald Neu給人一種‘不修邊幅’的感覺，非常的不‘德國’。
但卻也因這獨特的魅力，
這裡吸引了不少喜歡的非主流的咖啡客。
當然，這裡最大的賣點還是好喝的咖啡。
無論你點的是手沖還是意式咖啡，
都可以看到咖啡師以嚴肅的神情在沖煮。
馬少說那帶點生人勿近的淡然和冷漠，
是德國人專注和投入時的表現。
而這點在我們品嘗咖啡時得到了證實，
每一杯送上來的咖啡都是帶有誠意的，
無論口感、味道還是奶泡一點都不馬虎。