Aarti Mehta-Kroll visits the original Zeit für Brot in Mitte…

My first visit to Zeit für Brot was on a cool and sunny Wednesday afternoon. As I strolled from Rosa Luxemburg Platz along Alte Schönhauser Strasse, I immediately noticed the long wooden tables placed outside the bakery/café beneath dark awnings.

What a nice opportunity to people-watch while enjoying a coffee, I thought to myself.

The first thing I noticed upon entering the café were the wooden shelves in pastel tones; resting against a grey wall they were filled with an eye-catching assortment of breads.

Each loaf—from Bauernlaib (made with rye-spelt) to Pain Artisan–was beautifully crafted, and the careful presentation made me think more of an artistic composition than the average bakery display. Reading that the bread was freshly baked every day made me even more tempted to buy a loaf, as did the transparent glass wall that allows customers to witness the bread making process.

Despite the ostensibly artisanal concept, the café’s interior design is distinctly urban-chic, with parquet floors, spotlights in the tall ceilings and designer lamps and chairs. The colour scheme is mellow and the overall impression is smart but relaxed.

I got chatting to the friendly staff, who explained how leftover food goes to the homeless, one of the store’s many acts of social and environmental consciousness; the energy used on the premises is also carbon neutral and everything made in house is organic. From what I could see, all externally produced items sold—from the muesli to the juices —also carried organic stamps from companies like Bioland.

Aside from bread, the café offers quiches, sandwiches and paninis, in addition to a selection of sweet and savoury baked products like fantastic (and huge) cinnamon rolls, Schokobrötchen and the obligatory selection of cakes; everything from carrot to apple crumble.

As it was 3.30pm on a weekday afternoon, I was surprised to see a steady stream of customers. Most picked up a coffee and treat to go, but the clientele was pleasingly diverse: adolescents and pensioners, and a generous smattering of young mothers hanging on to their toddlers and pushing prams.

Despite all the activity, the noise level never seemed to rise. I don’t know if this was simply a matter of good sound-proofing or the consequence of a highly polite staff and clientele, but it’s one of the few cafes in the area I could…