ISLA COFFEE with Peter Duran

ISLA COFFEE

with Peter Duran

I was a fresh Berliner when I first stumbled across Isla Coffee, finding myself deep in the heart of Neukölln. I had been looking and asking around the local scene about anyone doing some great collaborative and innovative stuff with coffee, and had been recommended to go find a lad named Peter.

Walking into the café, steamy front windows, beautiful natural light, slight minimalist design with a quirky twist, the barista was behind the bar finishing up with a client in perfect German. I just stood there, waiting, and as a huge cup nerd, trying to decide what material the unique espresso vessels were made out of, and he turns to me, continuing in German. I do my best to respond, but quickly switch to English.“Which coffees do you have on today?” I ask sheepishly.

He responds in an accent the same as my own, “We have a Colombia on espresso and a really nice Ethiopia on batch brew.”

I chose the Ethiopia, and we get chatting. Turns out he is in fact the Peter I was looking for, raised in North America, and with a great story of living in various parts of the world before finally settling in Berlin for the time being. One of his co-workers walk in, from Argentina, and I hear them speaking together in Spanish (how many languages does this guy speak??). I also found out the cups were actually made from recycled coffee grounds by a local company called Kaffee Form, so that was super inspiring. I didn’t have time to write everything down on my first visit, but we caught up later for a cyber chat…

Tell me a bit of your story… where are you from and how did you end up in Berlin?

I’m originally from a rural area just north of Detroit. It was mostly a farming community with a bit of that good ol’ Detroit manufacturing culture on the side. To explain exactly how I ended up in Berlin is a very long story. The condensed version is that I made some very good friends who are from here when I was living in Argentina and Spain. I worked in Germany for a few years, went to Holland to do my Master’s and then somehow just felt the need to come back. It’s where I feel the most at home of all the places that I’ve lived. Berlin drives me nuts and I love it at the same time.

That’s always a great feeling to know you belong somewhere. So, what got you into coffee?

A good friend of mine, Kevin, got me into coffee. He used to take me to this place called Madcap in Grand Rapids, MI. These guys were brewing on this thing called a “Chemex”. We thought it looked cool and the coffee tasted rad. You didn’t need and milk or sugar. We would walk out of that place flying high on the caffeine dragon. I didn’t get into it professionally until about 6 years later, when I decided I wanted to combine my background as a cook and sustainability consultant with something that impacts people on a daily basis - coffee, or hot drinks in general.

And the sustainability aspect goes back to the cup design as well I imagine! I noticed you take a very strong slant on environmental practice and sustainability. Can you describe some of the specifics in Isla, and why this is so important to you?

Isla is meant to be a showcase for best practices in gastronomy. We’re trying as best as we can to integrate the principles of the circular economy and numbers based sustainability into what we do. What this means practically is avoiding packaging, smart logistics, finding ways to reuse our waste or avoid it altogether, and to source responsibly. There’s also a social component to it as well, providing opportunities for growth in the team, paying well and a whole range of other considerations.

You’re involved in a lot of things! I had the pleasure of attending a few of your DJ sets as well. How long have you been into house music and when did it become a bigger part of what you do as a DJ specifically? The music you played in the cafe was definitely something I vibe with. Do you ever bring your connection with electronic into the cafe setting or have plans to bring coffee and music together in a bigger way?

Haha, house music. God, I love it. I’ve been into techno a lot longer, from the standpoint of someone who worked on the experimental side of college radio and played in metal bands. But, when I started to make music, it always came out more like house. When I started to play out, about 7 years ago, it also just came out as house mostly. I guess there’s something about the warmth and groove that feel more natural to me. Regarding specific plans to mix music and coffee, I don’t really have anything planned. I feel like this is a played out combination that’s most often carried out sloppily. For me, dance music is for the dance floor - it feels out of place in a café. But, I also think that’s a DJs mentality. We try to be sensitive to what people what or need given the space and the time. This means I’m not gonna drop a house stomper at 8 whilst our first groggy customers come in to start their day with us.

Haha, I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate that so much as I would. Can you share a bit about your connection with Kaffee 9 [roaster/café in Berlin] and your roasting process for Isla?

I used worked at Kaffee 9 when it was “Café 9”. My then boss and now partner, Philipp, and I had plans to do something on our own. So, we opened Isla. Being a busy man, Philipp simultaneously opened the roastery with our former bosses. The idea of having more control over the taste of the coffee in Isla and being able to source from farmers we think are rad and want to support was something both of us were stoked on. So, first I joined Philipp for the green coffee cupping and roast QC (Quality Control) for our first coffee. Now, we’re at a point where we pick the green together, determine the profile together and I do most of the production roasting. It’s nice to have such a feedback loop - to see coffee go from the green cupping table into the customer’s cup. It’s been very eye-opening.

I also got to come by for the US + Canada coffee cupping you guys put on, including Korean Fritz Coffee Co of the World Aeropress Championship. Do you ever do any kind of events for the local community, something to give back? I know you do the brunches as well, anything unique about those you can share?

We try to engage with the community as best as we can. Isla has often been an events space for other people doing cool stuff: sustainability tours, clothing drives, dinner clubs and a farmer’s market. It’s really a part of our mission, to be a platform for people and organisations that are doing good work that we think is worth supporting, but might not otherwise have access to a space.

Thanks Peter, this is such an encouraging story, I know for me, and I’m sure for our readers as well!

For Peter’s music, check out Oldspeak on Facebook and Soundcloud.

During one of my visits, Peter also pointed me towards a fairly new Israeli café/restaurant called Gordon a few blocks down that was also a house/techno record label. I thought this would be perfect for my music/coffee Berlin theme, so I popped by for a quick chat.

GORDON [DORON + NIR]

Israeli Food | Café | Music

That’s their slogan, and after merely a few months, they’re doing a damn good job of it.

I caught up with Doron and Nir to get a glimpse of their story. Owning a record label called Legotek in Tel Aviv for about ten years, they decided to move to Berlin back in 2011. Just next-door, they had opened their first café about three years ago where they also served food and coffee, but it was a much smaller version than what they have now – it was more about the records with things to munch on the side. It wasn’t until only October 2017 when they opened Gordon to include all three parts on centre stage.

In terms of coffee, they serve espresso-based drinks from The Barn, and for beer on-tap, they’ve got Berliner Berg Braurei. I got a sneak peek of some of the food they were serving as well and it looked delicious.

I asked Doron a bit about the logo, and he said you can interpret it however you like. It reminded me right away of a record, and I love the association.

Israeli food, coffee, and electronic music – a beautiful trifecta.

תודה Gordon, thanks Peter, danke Berlin.