Enjoy a Bergische coffee table

Pastry tarts and cakes - fresh every day -, Bergische waffles in different varieties and the Bergische Kaffeetafel - "drinking coffee with all the bells and whistles" - are presented on a slate in Nordrhein-Westfalen advertised. Things get tricky when we try to enter the café, as three doors lead into this extraordinary café. Thankfully, the middle one opens, and the elderly gentleman who steps out points to the right door: "This way in."

👉 Culinary Tours Germany – Slow Travel, regional specialties and experiences

 

 

Our Bergische Kaffeetafel is full of nostalgia

We feel like Alice in Wonderland as we enter the café: Not a single inch of this room is empty. Pictures, posters, musical instruments, old clocks, and carved figures cover the walls. Books, flowerpots, vases, coffee pots, cups, saucers, old coffee grinders, and some other objects whose purpose isn't immediately clear to me stand on the windowsills. A life-sized figure with a top hat, glasses, and a camera around its neck has its place next to our table. Chandeliers, rustic country-style lamps, and old gas lamps with enamel decorations hang from the ceiling. Several round tables are scattered around the room, lovingly set with tablecloths in various colors, adding to the colorful ambiance. In one corner, several sofas are arranged in a seating area in front of a wall, where an open fire provides a cozy atmosphere.

 

 

A cafe like the living room at home

The guests clearly feel at home in this ambiance. At the tables next to us, for example, two middle-aged couples are sitting, chatting in hushed tones. A few minutes after us, a group of older ladies enters the room, clearly regulars of the café. They head purposefully toward one of the larger tables and order their waffles without even looking at the menu. They know the café's offerings. The sofas in the corner of the room are the retreat of several gentlemen, who are enjoying a quiet conversation by the fire. We almost get the impression that everyone considers the café their living room, so familiar is this environment to them.

 

 

There is a reason for that

There's a good reason for this, as the café's owner tells us a few minutes later: "Many guests have contributed something to this café and keep bringing things they no longer need at home." This has to do with the café's origins; it wasn't actually planned that way. The owner lived in Portugal for many years but then returned to his hometown in North Rhine-Westphalia. "I like drinking coffee," he says. "When I came here, there was no café in town. The only hotel had closed, and I had to travel a long way to get coffee and cake." Without further ado, he asked the owners of the empty house if he could use the ground floor.

 

 

"I got an old table and a couple of chairs from my neighbor, and every day at 15.00 p.m., I'd sit down with the door open, enjoying homemade coffee and a slice of cake I'd gotten from the bakery. People who knew me from before came in to say hello. Over time, word got around that I served coffee, and so I soon got more tables from the neighbors and asked my visitors to contribute. That's how it all started," he laughs.

 

 

We want to get to know the Bergische Kaffeetafel with him.

 

 

The Bergische Kaffeetafel

The Bergische Kaffeetafel is only available to order, as a slate in the café confirms. From six people you can enjoy this culinary experience. Traditionally, it was intended for several people. "The Bergische Kaffeetafel is a social event, not a culinary specialty," explains the café owner.

"In the past, people in the Bergisches Land worked during the week and didn't have time to meet for conversations. So they visited each other on Sundays. Even business meetings took place then, because everyone knew their business partner was available on that day. People would sit together between 2 and 6 o'clock. Whatever was available was served: fresh bread, rice porridge, fruit, jam, sausage, and more."

 

 

What is a drum mina?

"In the past, coffee was served in a Dröppelmina, a coffee pot with three legs from which the coffee was poured," our waitress explains. This was placed on a teapot warmer to keep the coffee warm. "Dröppelmina" is the common name in the Bergisches Land region. In northern Germany, it is spelled with an "nn."

"The pot originally comes from the Arab world, from where the Dutch brought it," the café owner tells us. One of these crane pots sits on our invitingly set coffee table as a souvenir, but in the café, coffee is poured from a pretty coffee pot with a blue and white decor.

 

 

One should have hunger

A Bergisches Kaffeetafel is definitely one. Delicious, sumptuous, and very extensive! You have to bring time, if you want to experience it yourself. You need three to four hours if you want to enjoy the four courses of such a feast.

The first course consists of slices of white bread, which we spread with butter and plum jam "to the brim," as the waitress advises. On top is a layer of rice pudding sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. This is followed by a Bergisch waffle sprinkled with sugar. Topped with hot cherries and a generous dollop of cream, this ensures that we're already full after the second course.

The third course is savory and consists of rye bread with a ham and cheese platter, salad, peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Finally, there's black pudding with onions on rye bread. It's best to skip lunch and dinner—then you can create a Bergisch coffee table. We certainly did well to do so!

 

 

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Where can you find the best Bergisch coffee table

However, if you want to experience a Bergisches Kaffeetafel for yourself, you can rarely do so without a reservation.

However, the café where we enjoyed our Bergische Kaffeetafel no longer exists. Instead, you can try them at one of these cafes:

Rengser Mühle Restaurant – Café – Hotel
Bergneustadt, Germany
This historic restaurant offers the Bergische Kaffeetafel with organic specialties. Advance orders are possible for groups of 6 or more.

Café Haus-Zillertal
Wuppertal, Germany
The café offers a Bergisch coffee table for individuals and groups. A festive table setting can be arranged upon request.

Zur Schönen Aussicht
Solingen, Germany
The original Bergische coffee table is served here, including coffee from the traditional 'Dröppelminna'.

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Food Travel You can also find more information here. Restaurants and cafesthat we recommend.

Source: On-site research. We would like to thank you in any case The Neanderland and North Rhine-Westphalia Tourism for inviting me to this trip. However, as always, our opinion remains our own.

Text: © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Photos: © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Video: © Copyright Petar Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline