Specialty coffee in Switzerland

Specialty coffee in Switzerland has a strong competition pedigree, led by Zurich's MAME, co-founded by 2018 World Brewers Cup champion Emi Fukahori. Swiss specialty coffee is small in number but technically demanding. MAME, in Zurich's Seefeld, opened its own roastery in 2019 and lists coffees by flavour rather than origin. Miró Coffee, which grew from a coffee truck into a roastery and café, was named Switzerland's Roaster of the Year in 2025. Basel's Kaffeemacher combines a roastery with a coffee academy, and national champions in latte art, barista and coffee-in-good-spirits competitions run cafés across Zurich.

Zurich and Geneva hold the largest clusters of cafés, with Lausanne, Basel and Bern forming the next group; Zurich and Basel also have their own roasters. Elsewhere the scene is scattered: Lucerne, Aarau, Baden, Vevey, Montreux and even Interlaken each have a café or two, and alpine roasters such as Zermatt Rösterei and Horizonte in Leysin roast for mountain towns.

Roasters that shape the Swiss cup include Kaffeemacher, Stoll Kaffee, Vertical Coffee Roasters, Boreal Roasters, Drip Roasters and Utopia Coffee. Expect espresso, filter at most specialty bars, and roasters that often profile coffees for espresso, filter and moka pot alike.