Frühling

Frühling on a weekday morning is just perfect in my opinion. Good soy cappuccino + free water, good music, relaxed atmosphere, reliable wifi, good mix of customers — people typing away at their laptops, some moms with babies, students studying, friends young and old meeting up for a chat. Popular seating outside on warm days. The staff is a bit shy but not unfriendly.

A really nice café with good quality coffee, free wifi, a cozy and light atmosphere. Definitely worth a visit!
Minus one star for two reasons: the staff seemed a tiny bit stressed out (it was Saturday morning an buzzling with guests — who wouldn’t), and the coffee was very good but I’ve had even better coffee in Berlin. Thus I set an absolutr rather than relative quality standard.

Thank god for Frühling and I’m not talking about the weather! Stumbling around Kleinbasel today brought me past this somewhat inviting-​looking corner café. I almost gave it a pass until I realised that it was directly next to a joint that offers barista trainings and boasts an impressive selection of espresso and coffee equipment one can spy through the window. Hoping that the two businesses were connected, I went in to Frühling for a cup of joe a la Aeropress, then an espresso and was not disappointed. F. serves two types of espresso and a handful of different coffees suited for either Aeropress or filter or both. From what I understand, F. buys their beans from a variety of different Swiss roasters, Rast (of Henrici fame) among them. And, yes, the café and the barista training joint are connected. I asked.
If one is not just keen on swilling coffee, F. also serves food and alcoholic beverages. I saw a sign reading ‘breakfast til late,’ but was not hungry enough to order. However, I endeavor to return to sample the fare as what other folk were eating looked tempting.
The interior of F. is warm, light and woody. Mostly four-​top wooden tables adorn the floor with at least one nice bench seat along the window facing the main thoroughfare. There are even a few child-​sized wooden tables marking one windowed section along the side of the shop. Apropos kiddos, the ‘baby brigade’ was out in full force at F. today. While such a thing might have just been some sort of mommy ‘meet-​up,’ I would imagine that their presence means that Kleinbasel may be teeming with young families and that there aren’t enough welcoming places in the area for them to visit.