{"id":11822,"date":"2020-06-12T15:43:09","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T15:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=11822"},"modified":"2020-06-12T15:43:47","modified_gmt":"2020-06-12T15:43:47","slug":"a-delicious-german-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/a-delicious-german-tradition\/","title":{"rendered":"A Delicious German Tradition: Kaffee und Kuchen!"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s time for Kaffee und Kuchen<\/em>! Every Sunday, usually, Germans come together for\u00a0Kaffee\u00a0<\/em>(coffee) and\u00a0Kuchen\u00a0<\/em>(cake). What does this tradition look like, how do you do it right? And where does it come from? Let’s have a\u00a0entspannten\u00a0<\/em>(relaxing) look!<\/p>\n

Noch ein St\u00fcck?<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
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Streuselkuchen<\/em> (Image by Schl\u00e4singer at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC BY SA 4.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s\u00a0Sonntag\u00a0<\/em>(Sunday), and you’re invited by your friend to come to their home for\u00a0Kaffee und Kuchen <\/em>in the afternoon, between f\u00fcnfzehn\u00a0Uhr <\/em>and siebzehn Uhr<\/em><\/a>. Once you get there, you smell a wonderful scent of a warm Streuselkuchen\u00a0<\/i>(crumb cake). You get a hot Tasse Kaffee <\/em>(cup of coffee) and a fresh\u00a0St\u00fcck\u00a0<\/em>(piece) of\u00a0Streuselkuchen<\/em>. You’re enjoying it, finish it, and are asked: M\u00f6chtest du noch ein St\u00fcck? <\/em>(Do you want another piece?)<\/p>\n

In Germany, it is not rude to refuse another\u00a0St\u00fcck<\/em>. But it is expected that one is offered another St\u00fcck<\/em>. So if you invite friends over for\u00a0Kaffee und Kuchen<\/em>, make sure you have plenty! If you have leftovers, you can always offer it to them to take home, or have more\u00a0Kaffee und Kuchen\u00a0<\/em>for the day after.<\/p>\n

And if you don’t like to bake yourself, you can just go to a\u00a0B\u00e4ckerei\u00a0<\/em>(bakery) or\u00a0Konditorei\u00a0<\/em>(confectionary) and pick and mix pieces at the\u00a0Kuchentheke\u00a0<\/em>(cake counter). Every\u00a0B\u00e4ckerei\u00a0<\/em>you come across in Germany should have some\u00a0Blechkuchen\u00a0<\/em>(sheet cake) like the\u00a0Streuselkuchen\u00a0<\/em>above, or\u00a0Teilchen\u00a0<\/em>(buns), like\u00a0Berliner<\/em><\/a> or\u00a0Apfeltaschen\u00a0<\/em>(apple turnover). Or a fun one, get an\u00a0Amerikaner\u00a0<\/em>(“American”), a round\u00a0Teilchen\u00a0<\/em>with\u00a0Zuckerguss\u00a0<\/em>(frosting).<\/p>\n

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A Kuchentheke<\/em> at a B\u00e4ckerei<\/em> with a Kirschblechkuchen<\/em> (cherry sheet cake) on the left and different Teilchen<\/em> (buns) on the right (Image by Rmone at Pixabay.com).<\/p><\/div>\n

Now, it’s not bad to only have one St\u00fcck <\/em>for each person, of course. Also healthier, and Germans understand that! The\u00a0Kaffee\u00a0<\/em>is the most important part.\u00a0Kaffee und Kuchen\u00a0<\/em>can be survived if all you have is\u00a0Pl\u00e4tzchen\u00a0<\/em>(cookies), but if you don’t have\u00a0Kaffee<\/em>… Then what are you doing?<\/p>\n

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Kaffee und Kuchen<\/em> at a German B\u00e4ckerei<\/em> (Image by author)<\/p><\/div>\n

Now, when it comes to\u00a0Kaffee<\/em>, Germans aren’t too demanding. A normal cup of Filterkaffee\u00a0<\/em>(filter coffee), with perhaps some\u00a0Milch\u00a0<\/em>(milk) and\u00a0Zucker\u00a0<\/em>(sugar) is just fine. Now, if you can and want to offer\u00a0Espresso\u00a0<\/em>(espresso), Cappuccino\u00a0<\/em>(cappuccino) or a Milchkaffee\u00a0<\/em>(“milk coffee”, often this is pretty much a Latte Macchiato), your guests will appreciate it. But it’s not a must at all!<\/p>\n

Kaffeeh\u00e4user<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
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Caf\u00e9 Prinzess<\/em> in Regensburg today (Image by Mattes at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC BY 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

The first\u00a0Kaffeehaus\u00a0<\/em>(coffee house) or\u00a0caf\u00e9\u00a0<\/em>(coffee shop) in Germany was opened in 1673 in Bremen. Where exactly is unknown. Other Kaffeeh\u00e4user <\/em>followed soon later. In 1686, a Kaffeehaus <\/em>was opened in Regensburg, and it exists to this day: Caf\u00e9 Prinzess<\/em>.<\/p>\n

These\u00a0Kaffeeh\u00e4user\u00a0<\/em>became social focal points, and became the birthplaces of many things, like the use of postboxes, newspapers and many shows and concerts. And of course, of the tradition to have something small and sweet with the Kaffee.<\/em><\/p>\n

These days,\u00a0Caf\u00e9s\u00a0<\/em>don’t have much of that flair left. The shows were replaced by lounges with soft jazz music, room plants and dim lighting. But\u00a0Kuchen<\/em>? That you can still get there!<\/p>\n

Kaffee\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Kuchen\u00a0<\/em>also had an impact on German vocabulary. Check out this post on the untranslatable German words\u00a0Kaffeeklatsch\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Kaffeefahrt<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Untranslatable German Coffee: Kaffeeklatsch and Kaffeefahrt<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n