Kafischmitte – The Pioneer of Swiss Specialty Roasters
Our heartfelt congratulations! Kafischmitte">Kafischmitte is celebrating its tenth birthday. That's a milestone for the Swiss specialty coffee scene. We want to record this for the annals of Swiss coffee history. Without Roger Wittwer and Kafischmitte, specialty coffee in Switzerland would not be where it is today.
For the past ten years, Kafischmitte has been a true pioneer from the quiet town of Langnau in the Emmental. They were sourcing quality coffee when most Swiss roasters didn't even know what 80 points meant. They were building direct relationships with coffee roasters when the term "direct trade" hadn't even reached Switzerland yet. Transparenz">Passion is written in capital letters in Langnau by the two driving forces behind it, Roger Wittwer and Michal Otte.
From the very beginning, Roger has sought international exchange with producers, roasters, and coffee professionals. He has supported barista initiatives (Kaffeesyndikat) and contributed to networking among Swiss roasters, always sharing his knowledge.
Championships with Success
Kafischmitte achieved success in Swiss and World Coffee Championships very shortly after its founding. In 2010, Kafischmitte roasted the World Championship coffee for Anna Käppeli. Philipp">Toni Oss became Swiss Champion with a Kafischmitte coffee and then placed 10th at the World Barista Championship 2012.
I personally owe an enormous debt to Kafischmitte. Roger roasted for me for my first barista championship in Tyrol, with coffee that was much better than my barista skills at the time. Trusting in the abilities of Roger and Michal, I imported a coffee from Kenya in 2014. We had 12 kg available for my Brewers Cup competition. We could only roast exactly two batches with it! Two weeks later, I became Swiss Brewers Cup Champion with this coffee.
Small but Mighty!
Kafischmitte has always been a side project. Yet their coffees are so excellent that many full-time roasteries could learn a thing or two from them.
We thank you for your commitment to great coffee and angemessene">fair prices for producers. Many thanks also for your tremendous contribution to the Swiss coffee scene!
With all our best wishes for the next 100 years.
Benjamin and Philipp
