As of September 3, 2025, it's finally here: Our new café at Basel SBB train station welcomes you with more space, more light – and even better coffee.
Our first café at 38 square meters was already a dream come true for us. Because what could be more beautiful than welcoming people with great coffee right in the middle of the commuter rush? Exactly where things often need to move fast, where coffee is made in large quantities but rarely with quality – that's where we wanted to show what's possible when you take coffee seriously.
That Basel SBB train station trusted us six years ago to realize this first café fills us with great gratitude even today. And we're all the more delighted that we were able to further develop this location: On 85 square meters of floor space plus 40 square meters of gallery space, a new meeting place has been created. A café that is a place to linger, but also optimized to quickly provide coffee in the commuter rush. And the new café is also a small coffee shop with roasted coffee and accessories.
From grab-and-go coffee to a retention café
Our first KM café opened just before the pandemic. Not an ideal moment. But with your support, we got through that time and our café became the daily coffee stop for many commuters. Soon, more and more travelers came with the wish to sit down during longer layovers. The grab-and-go café became a meeting place.
But with only six seats, lingering was difficult. We're now breaking this limitation: More than 40 seats inside and more outside, plenty of room to breathe – whether for a quick date, a focused business meeting, or a moment of peace in everyday life.
More than a café: Coffee knowledge & water refill station
Our new café is also a shop for coffee beans, accessories and brewing equipment – and a place where we share our knowledge directly.
A special highlight: our coffee water refill station. Home baristas can pick up perfectly treated water for their espresso machine or filter coffee here free of charge. Sounds special? But it's essential. Over 90 % of all espresso machine defects are caused by water that's too high in limescale.
German barista master Felix Hohlmann stands in front of his three espresso machines named Sanremo You.
Three espresso machines instead of one
Choosing the espresso machines occupied us for many months. As testers of espresso machines, we're familiar with both high-quality machines for home use and machines developed for the gastronomy sector.
In our coffee school, we work with six professional gastro machines – each one as expensive as a small car. And yet we keep standing in front of these machines thinking: espresso from good home machines regularly tastes better.
Espresso machines for home baristas have evolved enormously in recent years. Pressure and flow profiles are standard on the best machines. This allows various coffees to be brewed precisely and individually, tailored to each coffee's character. The gastronomy industry has largely missed this development.
That's why we deliberately chose three espresso machines that were originally designed for home use. Our selection focused on models with professional components that are also powerful in continuous operation. The new café at the train station is equipped with three Sanremo Yous.
This decision brings numerous advantages and we're convinced it will set a precedent. If one machine fails, two others are ready. This provides redundancy and operational reliability – unlike in many cafés where the entire service comes to a standstill due to a technical defect.
Moreover, our setup enables flexible operation: As the café empties toward evening, we can clean and shut down the first machine. This saves electricity, working time and costs. Efficiency, sustainability and quality go hand in hand.
Our setup is complemented by a freestanding milk frother by Modbar for flexible steaming, as well as a milk tap system that dispenses chilled milk in the exact amount needed – resource-efficient, hygienic and economical.
A place that shows what we do
- How does the roast profile change the taste?
- Which brewing recipe do we recommend for filter coffee?
- How large is the CO₂ footprint of a coffee from Honduras?
We answer questions like these every day – not just online or in courses, but directly in the café.
Every Wednesday evening, a workshop or lecture takes place on the gallery. Topics include:
These events are organized by our team: roasters, barista trainers and our crew from the academy, bakery and roastery. They bring their knowledge directly to you – approachable, practical and with lots of passion.
Architecture, craftsmanship, atmosphere
The train station is a place of commuting. Many shops are built functionally, often with artificial lighting and curtained windows.
Our café is the opposite. Open, bright, made of wood. We didn't shut anything off, but invited people in. Together with our carpenters, we built a gallery made of light, glazed wood. The entire café is the opposite of the often repetitive shop structures typical of chain gastronomy.
And more: We built the space ourselves. Our team sanded tables, built shelves, constructed the bar. The front was tiled by a friend. Nothing about it is standardized, everything was created by hand and with heart.
This is no accident, but part of our philosophy. We like to design things ourselves. We keep learning. We experiment. And we share what we learn. This attitude runs through all our work – in the roastery, in the academy, on the farm and also in the café.
A café with conviction
All the products we offer in the café are carefully selected: if possible regional and from small and family businesses, with high ecological standards. As a purpose-driven company, this conviction is not an afterthought, but part of our DNA.
We stock organic oat drinks from the Gutsch cooperative. Our milk comes directly from the organic producer in Reigoldswil. Our tea is from Länggass. We bake our own pastries. We cook our compote with fruit from the region.
Opening & opening hours
On Tuesday, September 2, 2025, we'll say goodbye to the temporary location.
On Wednesday, September 3 at 6:00 a.m., we'll open the new KM café at Basel SBB train station.
We look forward to welcoming you there.
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday: 6:00 – 21:00
Saturday & Sunday: 7:00 – 20:00
Come by. Try our coffees. Look around. And say hi.
We look forward to seeing you!
