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Home > Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries > We Built This City…On Coffee: Hamburg and the making of Europe's coffee trade
Podcast: Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries
Episode:

We Built This City…On Coffee: Hamburg and the making of Europe's coffee trade
Category: Arts
Duration: 00:50:12
Publish Date: 2026-01-05 04:00:00
Description:

On a long walk through Hamburg, somewhere between the fish markets and giant cranes, you might stumble a giant bronze coffee bean looks like its crash landed from space. 

 

But this giant coffee bean represents a staggering fact: one in every three cups of coffee drunk in Europe has passed through Hamburg. 

 

In the first half of this episode, we explore the many profound ways coffee shaped one of Europe’s most important cities. 

 

But then the story flips because, once coffee changed Hamburg, Hamburg began to change coffee.

 

Series 3 of A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. 

 

 

Please spread the word about A History of Coffee!

 

Follow us on Instagram - James (@filterstoriespodcast)  and Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) - and tag us in an Instagram story. 

 

Write a review on Apple Podcasts 

 

Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify

 

This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Mahlkönig, manufacturers of world-leading coffee grinders for 100 years for your home and cafe. 

 

Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ (https://amzn.to/3dihAfU)

 

Support James’ work directly by buying him a coffee at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories

 

Pick up a copy of Margrit Schulte Beerbühl’s book, Kaffee Ist Fertig! 

 

Read James’ article on Frederick the Great’s attempt to ban coffee in Standart

 

 

Go on your own Hamburg coffee tour!

 

Giant bean 

Speicherstadt Museum 

Burg Coffee Museum in the Speicherstadt

Becking, 100 year old coffee roasters

1950s Rebuilt Coffee Exchange - and an Instagram post coming on @filterstoriespodcast

 

 

Go deeper into the story of Mahlkönig’s grinders

 

Early EKs - post coming on @filterstoriespodcast

DK (aka Donkey Kong Dreiphasen Kaffeemühle)

Grind-by-Sync espresso grinders

EK Omnia

Guatemala

Matt Perger WBC routine demonstrating the EK

Filter Stories episode on grinding curves


How does Perfect Moose detect what kind of milk is in the pitcher? Click here to find out.
 
Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here.

What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here.
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