Roasteries / Ben Rahim
Ben Rahim
Berlin, Germany
Ben Rahim is a Berlin specialty coffee company that began in 2015 as a tiny café hidden in the sixth courtyard of the Hackesche Höfe, off Sophienstraße in Mitte — the city's first third-wave coffee shop with an Arabian twist, drawing on Tunisian and wider Arabic coffee and tea traditions. It serves espresso and milk drinks, hand-brewed filter by V60, Chemex and Kalita, and its signature: traditional cezve (ibrik) coffee brewed to order on copper pots over micro burners at the bar. No sugar is served at all, and filter is served without milk. Tea, matcha, baklava and pastries round out the menu; payment is by card only. The room — Persian rugs, a mosaic-tiled counter, a 48-sided geometric ceiling light — expanded into an adjacent space in late 2019, with bench seating out in the cobbled courtyard. Ben Rahim now roasts under its own label, with two espresso blends (Backyard, Halwa Shop), the seasonal Sophien filter blend named after the street, a decaf omni (Ramadan) and three rotating single origins each kept to a fixed flavour lane — Carthage from Africa, Cap Bon from Central America, Al Yemenia from Asia and Yemen — sold in the shop and shipped from benrahim.de. The brand has since opened in Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia and Doha, Qatar.
7
coffees
Germany
base
Location
Ben Rahim
Sophienstraße 7A, 10178 Berlin, GermanyMonday: 08:00-19:00 Tuesday: 08:00-19:00 Wednesday: 08:00-19:00 Thursday: 08:00-19:00 Friday: 08:00-19:00 Saturday: 08:00-19:00 Sunday: 08:00-19:00 Closed 25 December
Coffees
7 coffees
Ben Rahim's Asia slot, focused on Yemeni coffee and rotated roughly every three months while holding an earthy, chocolatey, tropical and complex profile. Sold in small 70 g bags reflecting the rarity and price of the green.
Tropical, complex
Ben Rahim's house blend, served in the café as espresso and cappuccino and their bestseller. A balanced, sweet everyday coffee that works black or with milk; as harvests turn over the components change with them, so the blend tracks the seasonality of coffee while keeping a red-fruit character and a refined sweetness.
Red fruit, refined sweetness
The Central American single-origin filter slot, rotated about every three months but always kept to one profile: lots of panela with burnt sugar, mellow jammy plum and dried lime, a mild tangy acidity and a sugary sweetness. For drinkers who love cherry- and cocoa-leaning cups.
Panela, burnt sugar, jammy plum, dried lime
Ben Rahim's African single-origin filter slot: the coffee changes roughly every three months but always comes from Africa and always keeps a floral, sweet profile — cherry, hibiscus and raspberry. For drinkers who love bright, floral cups.
Cherry, hibiscus, raspberry
A sweet, bold, fruit-forward espresso — the name plays on "halwa", meaning sweets. Wildly complex and natural-processed, with mouthwatering berries, florals, citrus and sweet chocolate. Pitched as a gift for coffee lovers after something unusual.
Berries, florals, citrus, sweet chocolate
Ben Rahim's decaf, roasted omni for both espresso and filter. Sweet and round with a long, pleasant aftertaste, mild almond and fresh-fruit flavours, good acidity and mellow sweetness — a cup to enjoy after dinner, with or without milk.
Almond, fresh fruit, mellow sweetness
A seasonal filter blend named after the café's home on Sophienstraße. Clean, balanced and medium-bodied — a great morning cup that stays easy to drink all day, with red fruit and a refined sweetness.
Red fruit, refined sweetness