Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Key takeaways
- Record whole bean coffee sales signal that Germans prioritise freshness and quality.
- The country’s coffee market hit a record €8.98 billion in 2025.
- LAP Coffee’s VC-backed expansion threatens Berlin’s independent specialty cafés.
- Rising at-home consumption creates both opportunity and pressure for roasters and coffee shops.
Around 200 million cups of coffee are consumed daily in Germany, according to CBI, and nearly 89% of German adults drink it regularly.
The story of coffee in Germany begins in the late 17th century, when the first coffeehouses opened in cities like Hamburg and Bremen. By the 18th century, coffeehouses had become social hubs, and consumption spread quickly. By the 20th century, filter coffee had become the default brewing method in most German households, and major roasters like Melitta, Tchibo, and Dallmayr had made Germany one of the world’s most important coffee import hubs.
Today, this position holds. Germany is Europe’s largest green coffee importer, sourcing over 90% of its coffee directly from producing countries. In 2024, Germany imported just over 1 million tonnes of green coffee. Hamburg’s port remains Europe’s largest coffee hub, and the country is home to approximately 2,500 roasters.
You may also like our article on how specialty coffee culture is changing in France.
Germany’s mature coffee market is shifting
The most telling indicator of where Germany’s coffee market is heading is the continued rise in whole-bean sales. Whole bean market share reached 46.6% in 2023, while single-serve sales fell by 24.7% and roast & ground coffee by 20.2% in the same year.
In 2025, whole-bean consumption hit a record 193,800 tonnes, more than doubling over the past decade. According to Deutscher Kaffeeverband, one in three German households now owns a fully automatic coffee machine, indicating that consumers increasingly prioritise quality and freshness.
“Germans have always cared about their coffee, and interest in making better-quality coffee at home is only growing,” says Alex Bidstrup, a barista working at several cafés in Berlin. “Bean-to-cup machines handle the entire coffee-making process, from grinding to milk foaming, so it’s a matter of convenience, as well as freshness.”
Despite this growth in quality-oriented consumption, the picture remains complex. Inflation has pushed a large share of German consumers towards cheaper products, including coffee. At the same time, overall coffee market value rose sharply.
The total value of roasted coffee jumped 23.5% to €8.98bn in 2025, the highest ever recorded in Germany, even as volume declined slightly by 1.5% year on year. Essentially, Germany’s coffee market is consuming less by weight but spending significantly more per cup.
Changing consumption habits also coincided with a major geopolitical shift. Following the 50% US tariffs on Brazilian goods, Germany became the largest importer of Brazilian coffee, underscoring the sheer scale of its purchasing power and signalling how global trade disruptions can redirect entire commodity flows through ports like Frankfurt and Hamburg.
But signs of tension are growing
Despite overall growth, Germany’s changing coffee market is showing signs of tension. This is especially apparent in cities like Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg, all of which have well-established specialty coffee scenes.
LAP Coffee, a venture capital-backed chain, has opened 30 stores across the three cities and is planning to add another 20 this year, targeting Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Frankfurt. Its formula is built around compact shops, minimal staffing, digital ordering, and cappuccinos priced at €2.50.
LAP’s rapid rise has put pressure on even well-established specialty roasters and independent cafés.
“We have been trying to justify higher prices for over a decade, so it really disrupts the specialty scene, especially in cities like Berlin, where a lot of consumers are against corporatisation,” Alex says. “It’s not just about paying more for coffee itself, but also fair wages, skilled baristas, and higher rents.”
The startup’s expansion has divided Berliners, prompting an online campaign dubbed “LapCoffeeScheisse” and a wave of vandalism, with many of its blue-and-white grab-and-go outlets splattered with red paint in October 2025. Critics argue that because LAP is not under pressure to turn a profit in the near term, it can price below the market cost of quality coffee and grow aggressively in the meantime.
“I think LAP Coffee will become increasingly present in the coming years and will displace many specialty shops,” Alex says. The chain’s rapid growth is fuelled by investors including HV Capital and Insight Partners, resources that independent roasters simply can’t match.
Similar tensions are emerging in cities like New York and London, where the rapid scaling of other venture-backed chains, such as Blank Street, that rely heavily on automation is pressuring independent businesses.
Looking ahead
Despite inflation and declines in overall volume, Germany’s coffee consumption isn’t retreating. Out-of-home coffee consumption hit an all-time high of 125,500 tonnes in 2025, surpassing the previous record set in 2018. At home, the growth of whole bean sales and fully automatic machines points to a consumer base that is investing in its coffee experience rather than trading down.
For roasters, this creates genuine opportunity. Bean-to-cup machine ownership means more households grinding beans fresh, buying with more attention to origin and quality, and engaging with the product in ways that ground coffee never encouraged. The German retail market is expected to grow by 3.2% yearly until 2028, with specialty coffee identified as a key driver.
The challenge for independent roasters and café owners is different. Rising costs, a competitive market, and now fast-expanding chains backed by substantial capital are compressing margins on multiple sides. Euromonitor analysts have noted that negative economic factors may lead to stagnation in the mid-term coffee sector, with cafés facing particular pressure.
A resilient market
Berlin’s specialty scene has absorbed challenges before, and its foundations remain substantial. The city is home to roasters like The Barn, Five Elephant, and Bonanza Coffee, and the number of registered specialty cafés in Germany grew from 294 in 2021 to 490 by 2025. Notably, this growth happened during the pandemic, amid rising energy costs, and with the arrival of international chains, demonstrating that the city’s specialty coffee scene can adapt.
The next phase of growth requires both commercial resilience and clearer communication. Consumers who understand why coffee costs more are better equipped to make informed choices. The arrival of brands like LAP, whatever one thinks of it, has at least made the case more urgent.
Germany will remain one of the world’s most important coffee markets regardless of how these tensions resolve.
The question is what the market will look like in ten years: whether growth in whole-bean consumption signals a genuine deepening of coffee culture, or whether the convenience-and-cost model gains enough ground to reshape how cities like Berlin drink their coffee.
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German coffee market FAQs
- Why is whole bean coffee growing so fast in Germany?
One in three German households now owns a fully automatic coffee machine, driving demand for fresh beans. Younger consumers in particular are buying whole beans to grind at home, seeking a higher-quality experience without the cost of visiting a café.
- What is LAP Coffee and why is it controversial?
LAP is a Berlin-based chain selling €2.50 cappuccinos across compact, digitised outlets. It is backed by venture capital investors, which critics argue lets it price below market cost and expand aggressively, threatening independent specialty cafés that can’t compete on price alone.
- Is Germany’s coffee market actually growing?
Volume fell 1.5% in 2025, but total market value reached a record €8.98 billion. Germans are drinking slightly less coffee overall but spending considerably more per cup, driven by a shift towards premium whole bean and out-of-home consumption.
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