Coffee not only strengthens well-being but also the region

Maker of the week from 27 April 2016

Lots of light enters Matthias Dallinger's small factory through the large windows. A light coffee aroma hangs refreshingly in the room. Freshly roasted coffee is being ground in the background. Next to the centrepiece, the coffee roaster, are jute sacks full of fresh coffee beans from Ethiopia and Brazil. The Bohnenmeister coffee roastery in Zschopauer Straße produces high-quality coffee. A treat for every coffee lover.

Is coffee the Germans' favourite drink?
Matthias Dallinger: Coffee is definitely the Germans' favourite drink. Statistically, coffee is the most drunk beverage in Germany. We are around 150 litres per capita per year. That includes everyone in Germany, including babies and tea drinkers. If you think about it, that's about a full bath. That's much, much more than beer and wine and even more than water.

How should your coffee taste in the morning?
Good! (laughs) I usually drink French press with my wife. The ground coffee is placed in a press pot or coffee press and infused with water that is ideally 95 degrees. First cover the bottom so that the coffee can swell and then pour to the top. Leave to infuse for four minutes and then press the filter down. The fact that the coffee is not filtered directly allows you to discover the full character of the coffee. However, one thing is clear: coffee is a luxury drink. Everyone has to discover for themselves how they like their coffee best.

Milk, sugar, milk and sugar or black?
Once again, coffee is a stimulant. The perception of good-tasting coffee is subjective. You just have to be aware of this: The more is added to the coffee, whether milk or sugar, the more I change the basic product. If the coffee is roasted properly and good beans are used, then coffee is not bitter. Bitter substances have no place in coffee. Coffee has around a thousand flavours that it can develop. It can compete with wine.
Coffee has a long tradition, especially in Saxony. Melitta Bentz developed the coffee filter in Dresden in the early years of the 20th century. After the war, the Melitta company moved to North Rhine-Westphalia. Leipzig is still home to one of the longest-running coffee houses in Europe, the "Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum". "Saxony is the pioneer in Germany when it comes to coffee," says Matthias Dallinger.

You run the only coffee roastery in Chemnitz - how did the idea of your own roastery with sales come about?
Historically speaking, I'm not the first. Before the war, there were up to 15 roasteries in the city.
How did I get into coffee? First and foremost, of course, I've always drunk coffee. During my studies, I spent some time abroad in Spain and met a friend from Mexico who later became my boyfriend. He came from a coffee family and simply told me a lot. That really fascinated me. I then travelled to South America, and you simply can't avoid the coffee industry there. After I graduated, I couldn't let go of the subject. I travelled through various cities for two years, attended seminars and then had a good theoretical knowledge. The idea of opening my own roastery was already maturing. But nobody wanted to show me how roasting worked - they were afraid of competition. Then I was lucky enough to work as a master roaster at a roastery in Saxony. I learnt there for a year, was able to try things out and took the plunge to open my own roastery. Now Chemnitz finally has its own roastery again.

Was the location of your roastery on Zschopauer Straße a deliberate choice or a coincidence?
I would describe it as fate. I had actually secured a property on Kaßberg. But there were difficulties right from the start - I just had a bad feeling about it. The estate agent then showed me something new and it was this property here. I walked in here and knew: this is it. The house is sensational, a beautiful art nouveau building, great rooms, great big windows, which is what I really wanted. So we are transparent, a kind of glass factory. And it's right on the main road. We are seen here. As we have short-stay car parks right outside the door, people also stop and buy their coffee from us.
"But the important thing is: I'm not actually a shop or a café - I'm a coffee roastery, in other words a producer," says Matthias Dallinger clearly. He is continuously building up his network of retailers, to whom he then sells his coffee. Of course, he still has a factory outlet in his manufactory. "Anyone can come and buy a packet of coffee. But you can also see how the coffee is roasted, ground and packaged."

Where do you source your coffee beans from?
I only use highland Arabica beans. They grow at an altitude of over 1000 metres. I source the beans from all over the world. I have coffees from Central America, South America, Africa and Asia.

Can you say how the people of Chemnitz prefer to drink their coffee?
From my experience, I can say that. Generally speaking, the Saxons drink coffee with a full body - in other words, rather strong. Whereas in the north, they tend to drink more fruity coffees. I think it's a matter of habit. The Saxons are known for floral coffee, but that's not necessarily a matter of strength.

Together with the Chemnitz brewery "Stonewood", you have developed a Chemnitz coffee ale? How did you come up with the idea of mixing beer and coffee?
It was a spontaneous idea on my balcony in the evening. It was more of a flash of inspiration. And it's not that far off. Beer and coffee are the Germans' favourite drinks. Beer should also be viewed in a very differentiated way. There is no such thing as "the beer". For us, beer is usually associated with pilsner. But we have created an ale - a top-fermented beer that has very few bitter substances and is rather sweet and fruity. We've added a subtle hint of coffee to it.

Has the beer been accepted by the people of Chemnitz?
The ale has been available since December last year. The first keg is completely sold out. The second barrel is now being stored. So it's sold out at the moment. But I reckon there'll be another one in a month.

Matthias Dallinger wants to strengthen the region through projects like this. "There are many people here in the area who do their best and enjoy their work. It's good to join forces and develop great things together, like beer." He therefore prefers to work with companies in the immediate vicinity. "If we keep the capital in the region, then we all benefit from it."

Do you have a favourite place in Chemnitz where you drink your coffee to go?
Basically, I don't drink coffee to go (laughs). Coffee takes so long, from cultivation to care, harvest, then it comes here and is gently roasted. And then I pour the good coffee into a paper cup to drink it on the go and produce waste? That doesn't work for me. Nevertheless, there are many beautiful places in Chemnitz. For example, the Kappelbach stream on Zwickauer Straße, or the castle pond. There are also very nice places in Küchwald.

You originally come from Rochlitz. Why did you move to Chemnitz?
Well, Chemnitz is the next largest city. And then I studied in Chemnitz and stayed here after graduating. Chemnitz is a nice city to live in. It's not too big and it's not a village either. I live on the Kaßberg - one of the largest Wilhelminian style and art nouveau neighbourhoods - you can't find that anywhere else in this form. Then the ratio between what you pay and what you get in return is simply good in Chemnitz.

Do you have to encourage the people of Chemnitz?
That is difficult. You have to try to give the people of Chemnitz self-confidence. So that they realise that it's a beautiful city. We have a past that we can be proud of. And by that I don't mean the Karl Marx Monument and the GDR past as a model socialist city. Of course Leipzig and Dresden are beautiful cities, but Chemnitz is also beautiful. And if you say that Paris is more beautiful than Dresden, then many people will agree. That's the way it is with comparisons. That's why I'd like the people of Chemnitz to realise what we have here and not always see everything in a negative light.

With your "Chemnitz Legends" series, you are a kind of ambassador for the city and bring your customers closer to the historical history of Chemnitz.
Exactly, that's our special edition. I associate the history of Chemnitz with a bag of very high-quality coffee. A beautiful label is then applied to the coffee packs, on which a Chemnitz legend is described. We have already introduced the Wanderer factories. When the bag is empty, there will be a new one and with it a new Chemnitz legend. The last special edition was about Karl Schmitt-Rottluff. Many people don't even realise that he was born in Chemnitz and was a Chemnitz native. The third part will again focus on industrial history. In this way, a piece of Chemnitz history will be passed on and you will have a great souvenir from Chemnitz.