Germans like the coffee sour, I knew that before. But my last Kaffeegenuss proved that what I was taking for “sour” is but a mild distaste, the real “sour” going far beyond my wildest dreams.

The other day I was shopping in PEP. I spotted a pralines shop, where they also had coffee. What gripped my attention was Mexico Maragogipe, a mild coffee with large beans, much less acidic than any other coffee. I always enjoyed it.

Knowing the local preferences, I asked whether the coffee is strongly roasted. “It is mild”, was the answer. So I said “I know it is mild, I want to know if it’s strongly roasted”. “It is mild”

Having heard that I should have backed out. Stupid me! Instead, I bought 250g of that troglodyte coffee, and made espresso as soon as I got home. One thing I can tell, this good mild coffee was not roasted, it was as burnt, as an old pot!

I learnt from that experience, that the coffee available in communist Poland in the 80’s, wasn’t necessarily made of low-quality beans, it was just over-roasted.

If you want to try that exquisite taste of nostalgy, come to PEP in Munich.

With such a sensitive approach to the delicate coffee bean, I reckon their pralines must be made of crunchy cockroaches lovingly coated in lark’s vomit.