Monocle Explores Hamburg's Historic Coffee Culture for New 'Travel Guide' Video

Last spring, Monocle took viewers to Melbourne, Australia for another insightful and informative edition of its popular Travel Guide series. Now, for Monocle’s latest cultural exploration,  the outlet travels to Hamburg, Germany to examine the large city’s  historically-significant relationship with coffee and maneuver through its local coffeehouse circuit.

“The proliferation of coffee in the city didn’t come from nowhere; it was a lucrative import and Hamburg was historically one of the top European ports ferrying in coffee from the likes of Brazil, Ethiopia, Vietnam and beyond,” the Hamburg: The Monocle Travel Guide’s narrator explains. “Some of the world’s most important coffee companies were founded here, too. Elsewhere in the city, around the turn of the 20th century, there were 200 commercial roasters and about 60 coffeehouses — significantly more than Vienna, which was arguably the hub of Europe’s historic coffee culture. Today, Hamburg’s coffee scene is much more socialable than a hole-in-the-wall joint on the wrong side of the tracks; the city abounds with many thriving third-wave establishments.”

The aforementioned video was created to support and promote Monocle’s latest book, The Monocle Travel Guide, Hamburg. “If Berlin is Germany’s clubbing capital then Hamburg is the dinner party that’s as raucous as it is refined – and the guests are a varied bunch too,” reads the book’s official synopsis. “Stroll around this port city and you’ll brush shoulders with local fishermen on the banks of the River Elbe, world- renowned gallerists hosting cutting-edge exhibitions, and independent retailers flaunting wares that are either “Made in Hamburg” or exotic. Pull up a chair and meet the lot of them.”

You can check out the new Hamburg: The Monocle Travel Guide vignette above. For those interested in picking up their own copy of The Monocle Travel Guide, Hamburg, head on over to Monocle’s official website. The Monocle Travel Guide, Hamburg is a 148-page hardcover offering and currently retails for $15 USD.

For more, check out the  Monocle Travel Guide Series: San Francisco video from fall 2017.