Journal — May 2021

Ralf Rueller opened The Barn in Berlin in 2010 with the goal of exploring the horizons of the coffee industry. Honestly, I don’t know what wave we’re in anymore, but I know that The Barn helped us get here. According to Ralf, “Our vision has been very clear from the start: We focus on making our coffees better and better. No compromise—just great coffee.” Their coffee has been good from the start, but they’ve never stopped trying to improve, so I wasn’t even a little bit surprised when they were named Europe & the Middle East’s best coffee roaster in 2019.

I’ve really missed bustling cafes this last year, and I can’t wait to get back to them, but as I prepped for this month’s feature, I realized how much I’ve also missed The Barn. Their shops feel more reverent than buzzy, like a museum or a shrine. Hushed tones and slurps of coffee fill the air. I’ve read reviews of people put off by this, but I love it. They make each coffee, and each cup they serve, feel like something special.

Speaking of special coffees, this month we are sharing a really tasty Kenyan coffee. Gakuyu-ini is located in Kirinyaga, and it grows in fertile, volcanic soil on the southern slopes of Mount Kenya. I’ve been loving it on the Aeropress, and just made my first iced coffee of the year with it. I’ll post a recipe on instagram soon. Please try it. This is a fantastic coffee to enjoy on a hot day in the sun.

Also of note is Sitio Cachoeirinha, a very elegant Brazilian coffee. The story behind this coffee is really inspiring. Make sure to read about it on the info card or at The Barn’s website. Elias Santana and Maria Irene are children of coffee growers in the Cachoeirinha community, who fell in love, married, and decided to continue in coffee. They bought their first piece of land in the community where they both grew up, and committed themselves to producing high quality coffees through the dedication and love for the work that they had learned from their families. They harvest each cherry by hand, to keep the regional cultural heritage of coffee farming alive while at the same time pursuing new, richer flavors.

For now, enjoy these beans, but let’s all meet up at The Barn one day soon, ok? Guten Kaffee!