Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This can be due to the following reasons, which we will discuss in more detail below: 1) water temperature, 2) grind size, 3) coffee beans.

1. The brewing temperature of the water

Ideally, coffee should be brewed with a water temperature between 88-96°C. If the water is too hot, too many substances are released from the coffee and the coffee tastes bitter. What is known as overextraction occurs. If you don't have a kettle with a temperature display, it's worth letting the boiled water stand for 1-2 minutes before pouring your coffee.

2. Grinding size

If you grind your coffee beans too finely, the extraction will take longer or too long and more bitter substances will be released. Try a coarser grind.

3. The coffee itself

The darker a coffee is roasted, the more bitter substances it usually contains. If you don't get anywhere with the water temperature or the degree of grinding, it may be due to the bean itself. We roast our coffee beans particularly precisely, comparatively light and therefore flavor-friendly.

This can be due to the following reasons, which we will discuss in more detail below: 1) water temperature, 2) grind size, 3) coffee beans.

1. The brewing temperature of the water

Ideally, coffee should be brewed with a water temperature between 88-96°C. If the water is too cold, too few particles will be released from the coffee and it will taste sour. We recommend a kettle with a temperature display.

2. Grinding size

If you grind your coffee beans too coarsely, the extraction will go wrong. This is then referred to as under-extraction: the water takes in too little of what is supposed to be extracted from the ground coffee. Try adjusting the grind of your coffee grinder a little finer .

3. The coffee itself

The lighter a coffee is roasted, the more acid the bean contains. If you're stuck with the water temperature or grind size, it may be the bean problem. We roast our coffee beans particularly precisely, comparatively light and therefore flavor-friendly.

Lightly roasted specialty coffee can definitely be more acidic . We are talking about fruitiness or tangyness . Because tastes are different, we also offer less acidic specialty coffees. We recommend the SANTA ALINA Brazil as a filter coffee and the TOULOUSE Bio-Blend as an espresso.

Specialty Coffee is the highest quality coffee you can buy. Experts, so called Q-Graders, assess the coffee quality by viewing and tasting the beans.

The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) sets specific guidelines and a point scale of 1-100 . A score of 80 or more is considered specialty coffee. When tasting, the aroma, taste, acidity, body, uniformity, cleanliness, aftertaste, balance and sweetness of the coffee play a role.

You can find out more in our detailed article What is specialty coffee?

With the roasting level we indicate how light or dark the respective coffee beans are roasted (scale of 5 from light to dark). The lighter the degree of roasting, the more of the bean's natural flavors are retained and come into their own in your cup. You can taste the fruity origin of the coffee.

But not everyone likes that straight away. Unfortunately, we find that the palate of most coffee drinkers is used to roasted aromas and bitter tastes. These are typically referred to as Italian roasts. This means that the coffee beans are heated very strongly when roasting, almost burned, and you can taste it.

We take a different approach and get the most different flavors from the different coffee beans. This opens up a whole new world of taste, from tangy-fruity to floral and tea-like to chocolatey-nutty. The rule here is very clear: who dares, wins! Nevertheless, with our Marcello Strong and Toulouse, we also offer darker roasts with Robusta content and great crema.

The fresher coffee beans are roasted, the more aromas they bring with them. Over time, the beans lose their flavors through oxidation and other chemical processes. Old coffee therefore usually tastes bland and boring.

All of our coffee packets have a stated roasting date, so you always know how fresh your coffee beans are.

No. Many coffee lovers think that the designation “100% Arabica” represents a special quality feature. That is not true.

It is true, however, that Arabica varieties have more natural aromas. But with heavily roasted coffee (often referred to as 'Italian') this hardly matters. High roasting temperatures ensure that the roasted flavors overpower all others. Robusta offers more caffeine and is popular in espresso blends because of its more pronounced crema.

You can find out more about Arabica and Robusta in our article How is coffee grown?

The V in V60 stands for the cone shape, the 60 for an angle of 60°. We're talking about the iconic hand filter from Hario, which has created a classic for brewing filter coffee with the Hario V60. The additional numbers 01, 02 and 03 stand for the different sizes (small to large).

From us you can get the hand filter holders made of porcelain and glass as well as the matching paper filters from Hario .

We send our coffee and coffee accessories throughout the EU with climate-friendly shipping by DHL GoGreen.

The shipping costs in Germany are a flat rate of €4.95.

We ship free of charge within Germany for orders over €75 . The shipping costs for international shipping are a flat rate of €15 per order up to 2 kg.

We ship every Tuesday and Friday. Your order should reach you within 3 to 5 working days.

Have you been waiting for your order for a long time? Then it's best to write us a message.

For everyone who doesn't want to regularly buy new coffee themselves, we offer a practical, automatic coffee subscription. You can choose which coffees you would like to receive regularly – biweekly, monthly, or every other month.

Simply select your favorite coffees and the corresponding delivery option. All subscribers receive a 10% discount from their first order. The shipping costs are the same as for individual orders.

To add multiple coffees to the subscription, simply place them together in the shopping cart for your subscription order and make sure that you choose the same delivery interval.

You can change, pause or cancel your subscription at any time. Since some of our coffees are only available for a limited time, they cannot be subscribed to. This is especially true for unusual filter coffees.

You can find instructions for taking out your coffee subscription here.

Yes, you can select self-collection during the ordering process. Your coffee will then be ready for collection on Friday between 3 PM and 6 PM. If you are unable to come on Fridays, please let us know in advance.

No, our vouchers are only valid in our online shop. Café Marcel and the roastery are two different companies.

As long as you have not yet opened the coffee package, you can return your order to us within 14 days at your own expense. We will be happy to send you a return label.

For hygiene reasons, we do not take back coffee packaging that has already been opened. If there is something wrong with your coffee beans, it is best to write us a message.

We are a small team of coffee enthusiasts and opened our own roastery in 2018. Aurore Ceretta, Mats Weller and Philip Weller founded the company together and are the owners.

Nicolas Kittel joined later and take care of the roasting, training and marketing. You can find out more on the About Us page.

As Günter Coffee Roasters, we do not operate our own café. We stopped operating our café in Freiburg-Günterstal during the pandemic years.

Aurore Ceretta and Philip Weller, two of our owners, run Café Marcel in Freiburg's Stadtgarten. However, it is a separate company. Orders cannot therefore be picked up there and vouchers purchased via our shop on this site cannot be redeemed.

We source our green coffee from many countries around the world along which the coffee belt extends.

We always make sure to get as much information as possible about our green coffees and try not to lose sight of the social and ecological implications. We purchase some coffees directly, others through larger import partner companies.

You can read more about this in our blog article on the coffee trade.

Yes. We are certified organic according to DE-ÖKO-007 and also offer some organic coffee. The coffee beans are labeled accordingly.

You can find all organic coffee beans here.