With the Coffe Baum, Leipzig is home to one of the oldest coffee houses in the world. The museum also provides information on the exciting history of coffee.
Germany's oldest coffee house is situated in the heart of Leipzig's old town. Coffee, Saxony's favourite drink, has been served here since 1711. The portal sculpture on the façade gave the house its name Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum. The historic rooms of the Café Français, the Viennese Café and the Arabic coffee shop fascinated famous people like Johann Christoph Gottsched, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Robert Schumann. This is where guests get in the mood for their museum visit.
The tour through 15 museum rooms includes more than 500 artefacts and audio and film exhibits illustrating the rich history of Leipzig's coffee house culture and Saxon coffee culture. Included among the artefacts is a cup from which Napoleon drank in 1813, as well as roasting utensils, coffee brewing pots, coffee house rules, "Blümchenkaffee" (weak coffee) and a sample roaster. The story of the famous black bean, a cultural gift from the far East, is here: Coffee's past and present, a pleasure and a cliché, a colonial trade good, an extremely scarce treat in the GDR and a global commodity.
The tour through 15 museum rooms includes more than 500 artefacts and audio and film exhibits illustrating the rich history of Leipzig's coffee house culture and Saxon coffee culture. Included among the artefacts is a cup from which Napoleon drank in 1813, as well as roasting utensils, coffee brewing pots, coffee house rules, "Blümchenkaffee" (weak coffee) and a sample roaster. The story of the famous black bean, a cultural gift from the far East, is here: Coffee's past and present, a pleasure and a cliché, a colonial trade good, an extremely scarce treat in the GDR and a global commodity.
Due to building renovation, the Museum Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum is closed to the public until further notice.