Hi and welcome coffee travelers,
this is to tell you more about Mel’s Coffee Travels, the Blog and me, Mel.
I’m Melanie or short Mel, a specialty coffee fan that loves to travel and explore the (specialty coffee)world! I love to inspire people and talk coffee!
In the past I went on those ‘normal’ sightseeing trips that covered most of the touristy spots in the past. I didn’t really like these trips, because I only experienced the city or country I visited as an outsider that doesn’t really get an impression of the people living there…
At some point, though, when I delved deeper into specialty coffee, I noticed that I started building my itinerary around the specialty coffee places I wanted to see at my very travel destination. The sightseeing was just a nice ‘add on’, I didn’t really care about anymore…
And, I started noticing that more like-minded coffee people were doing the same – wrapping their itinerary around certain specialty coffee shops, cafes and roasteries that they wanted to see while visiting their travel destinations.
This got me thinking…
Why not create a platform, where coffee people can get inspirations, where and what coffee places to go to while traveling to certain countries and cities. Plus, suggesting nice touristy spots or other great places, like restaurants, bars, etc. as well, to make the most of their coffee travels…?
Mel’s Coffee Travels is about my travel adventures within the global specialty coffee community and about exploring my travel destinations via its specialty coffee scene – one cup of (specialty) coffee at a time.
I started this kind of traveling in 2014. In Europe London, Amsterdam and Istanbul as well as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt in Germany have been on my itinerary so far.
My coffee trip in summer 2016 traveling the US – to New York City, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. on the East Coast and Seattle, Portland and San Francisco on the West Coast – has been topped by my coffee related research trip – from seed to cup – to East & South East Asia I’ve done between October 2017 and April 2018.
Over a period of 6 months I’ve been traveling to the specialty coffee hot spots in East & South East Asia Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Saigon, Chiang Mai & Bangkok as well as Kuala Lumpur and visited coffee farms in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
Don’t wanna miss my recent adventures? Head over to my Instagram page!
What you’ll find on Mel’s Coffee Travels
Basically my trips are a mix of getting to know the local (specialty) cafe and coffee culture and its people, spiced with some touristy spots that cannot be missed while being there, my personal recommendations or hidden gems that aren’t in any guide book.
I also like to share my personal insights and experiences from coffee origin, because getting to know and to learn more about where the coffee we’re drinking actually comes from is part of the whole (coffee) story, too.
I’m writing about each travel destination, be it countries or cities on this blog. Follow the categories for either my Guides, e.g. for Berlin district Kreuzberg or Neukölln, or for Cities, like Amsterdam, Philadelphia, Tokyo or Seoul.
If you’re not yet sure, what you’re looking for, head over to my Blog and scroll through all the articles in there!
But, Mel’s Coffee Travels is not only about cafe reviews and the best places to go to… Instead, I want to provide (coffee) travels tips and ideas, give some inspirations on how to make the most of your coffee travels as well as make suggestions on coffee walking tours and how to not get over caffeinated, too …
Besides all the amazing filter coffees and Flatties I’ve tried all over the globe, the world of signature drinks and coffee cocktails & mocktails has hooked me and never let me go again… The connection between coffee culture & bar culture just had to be part of Mel’s Coffee Travels, too!
During my trip to East & South East Asia, especially the coffee bars in Tokyo and Chiang Mai and their creative drinks menus sparked my interest.
I’m super proud of my category ‘Drinks‘, where I feature amazing brewing bartenders such as World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion 2017, Martin Hudak, as well as the German Coffee in Good Spirits Champion 2015, Timon Kaufmann, and their creative coffee cocktail recipes.
If you’re rather looking into recipes without the Booze, you might wanna check this article about espresso mocktails out. Remember the trendy beverage Dalgona Coffee from a couple years ago? I played around with some recipes there, too.
I know this is a Coffee Blog, but sometimes you just need a soothing, calming warm beverage that doesn’t give you sleepless nights, but instead helps you falling asleep. I’ve got you covered with this one, too, with my 3 calming recipes of Moon Milk with Ashwagandha.
Apart from being a specialty coffee lover, I’m such a big Foodie, too! I love to cook & bake and to pair some decent coffee beverage to go with my creations. Hence I fell in love with what they call coffee & food pairings. One of my favorite cafés in Amsterdam is making an extremely great job with this: Read the interview with Scandinavian Embassy here.
Anyways, I’m open for more great coffee places! Let me know, which cafes, coffee shops, roasteries I shouldn’t miss in your eyes on my Facebook page or on Instagram!
If you like, what you’re reading on my Blog and feel, I’d fit to your brand, let’s talk!
Here’s the link to my portfolio. The following link shows you what I have done for my clients in the past.
Welcome and keep exploring!
Mel
P.S. Wanna know more about me and my way into specialty coffee? Read more here!
