What starts with a one-hour train ride for a cup of coffee ends with opening your own cafe in Basel. That is the short version of how BRÜ came to be. The longer version involves Spanish brunch culture, an empty storefront spotted from a bicycle, a Colombian friend who showed up at exactly the right moment, and a conviction that Basel deserved better coffee.
From Madrid to Basel -- Via Zurich's Coffee Shops
A few years ago, Felipe Fernandez Lobato -- born in Spain, working in pharma in Basel -- used to take the train to Zurich every few weeks just to find specialty coffee. Places like Cafe Mame and Mirabelle were among the few in Switzerland serving it: coffee from top-tier beans, fruitier and more nuanced than the classic Italian-style espresso that dominates Swiss cafes.
When he moved to Basel five years ago, he found zero specialty coffee shops. His colleague Jorge Ros Guerrero felt the same way. Both missed the Spanish coffee culture -- the social weekend brunches, the quality espresso, the hours spent at a table with friends. "What hiking is for the Swiss on weekends, brunching is for the Spanish," Felipe says. Basel had excellent bakeries and traditional cafes, but nowhere that combined specialty-grade coffee with the relaxed, social atmosphere they were looking for.
A Bicycle Ride Past an Empty Space
About two years ago, Felipe cycled past an empty storefront near Wettsteinplatz on Grenzacherstrasse. The location struck him immediately: right between the Rhine and Roche headquarters, in a residential neighborhood with heavy foot traffic but no specialty coffee within walking distance. One day later, he was viewing the space -- and his friend Camilo Hernandez Mejia from Colombia spontaneously joined the viewing. The three -- Felipe, Jorge, and Camilo -- were on the same wavelength from the start. Not just about coffee, but about what their cafe should feel like.
Timeline: How BRÜ Grew
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2024 | BRÜ 1 opens at Grenzacherstrasse 97, near Wettsteinplatz. Specialty coffee, brunch, and after-work drinks from day one. |
| 2024 | DABOV partnership begins. We start sourcing exclusively from DABOV Specialty Coffee, one of Europe's most awarded roasters. |
| 2024 | Sibarist distributorship. BRÜ becomes the Swiss distributor for Sibarist specialty coffee filters from Barcelona. |
| 2024 | After-work concept launches. Evening menu with Iberian wines, cocktails, and charcuterie boards. Jorge's connection to a Spanish family winery makes this possible. |
| 2025 | Workshop program starts. Home brewing courses, cupping sessions, latte art masterclasses, and professional barista bootcamps. |
| 2025 | Online shop launches. Specialty beans, Nespresso-compatible capsules, Sibarist filters, and brewing equipment shipped across Switzerland. |
| 2025 | BRÜ 2 opens at Sternengasse 19 in the Starbites Foodhall, across the Rhine at Bankverein. Coffee-forward, focused on weekday lunches and professionals. |
The DABOV Partnership
From the beginning, we knew the coffee had to be exceptional. In Switzerland, most cafes buy from local roasters who source commercial-grade or entry-level specialty beans. We wanted something different: direct-trade coffee from a roaster who competes at the highest level.
We found that in DABOV Specialty Coffee, founded by Hristo Dabov in Sofia, Bulgaria. DABOV has won multiple European roasting championships and sources directly from award-winning producers across Ethiopia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, and beyond. Every lot is cupped, scored, and roasted to bring out the origin's unique character.
What makes the partnership work is alignment: DABOV roasts for flavor, not volume. They offer micro-lots and competition-grade coffees that most Swiss roasters do not have access to. When a 90-point Cup of Excellence lot becomes available, we get first option. When Hristo develops a new roast profile, we test it at both locations before putting it on the menu. The relationship is collaborative, not transactional.
You can taste DABOV's coffees on our menu every day -- from the Ethiopia by DABOV (floral, bright, tea-like) to the Brazil by DABOV (chocolate, hazelnut, full body). Browse the full lineup in our online coffee collection.
The Sibarist Story
Shortly after opening, we discovered Sibarist -- a Barcelona-based company making specialty coffee filters that dramatically improve extraction quality. Their filters use a different paper structure that allows faster flow and zero paper taste, producing noticeably cleaner cups than standard filters.
We started using Sibarist filters for all our pour-over and batch brew at both locations. The difference was clear enough that guests started asking about them. That led to a distribution agreement: BRÜ is now the Swiss distributor for Sibarist, carrying their full range of V60 cone filters, flat-bottom filters, espresso filters, and brewing systems in our online shop and at both locations.
Two Roasts, One Philosophy
The core is always the coffee. "We offer two roast profiles," Felipe explains. "One chocolatey, nutty -- more approachable for traditional espresso lovers. And one fruity, acidic for specialty fans." About 80% of guests still choose the chocolatey version, he adds with a laugh. But the concept works: many guests who start with the classic profile eventually ask to try the fruity option, and a significant number switch over time. That gradual journey from familiar to adventurous is exactly what we want to enable.
Every coffee we serve scores 84+ on the SCA scale -- the international standard for specialty coffee. We source from producers in Ethiopia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Rwanda, Honduras, Mexico, and beyond. The lineup rotates as new lots arrive, but the quality threshold never drops.
BRÜ 1: The Heart
BRÜ 1 at Grenzacherstrasse 97 is where it all started -- and remains the heart of the operation. Situated between Wettsteinplatz and the Rhine, it serves as specialty coffee cafe in the morning, brunch destination on weekends, and after-work bar in the evenings. The proximity to Roche headquarters shaped the concept: morning flat whites for researchers heading to the campus, lunch salads and sandwiches, and after 17:00, wine, cocktails, and charcuterie boards.
The space is intimate -- around 40 seats inside and a terrace in warmer months. The design is minimal and warm, with natural materials and an open bar where guests can watch pour-overs being brewed. We pull espresso on a Slayer machine, one of the most precise espresso machines in the industry. The Rhine-side location also makes it a natural starting point for runners exploring the city — see our guide to the best running routes in Basel, several of which end within walking distance of a post-run flat white.
BRÜ 2: Across the Rhine
Earlier this year, BRÜ expanded across the Rhine to Bankverein. BRÜ 2 at Sternengasse 19 sits inside the Starbites Foodhall and focuses even more on coffee and weekday lunches for professionals working in Basel's financial district. The format is streamlined: specialty espresso drinks, filter coffee, pastries, and a compact lunch menu.
BRÜ 2 gave us the chance to try a slightly different approach. The location is busier during weekdays and quieter on weekends -- the opposite rhythm of BRÜ 1. Between the two locations, we now serve coffee to different communities on both sides of the Rhine. Our offerings evolve with the seasons — read about summer at BRÜ to see how our drinks, brunch specials, and evening menu change when the weather warms up.
Basel's Specialty Coffee Scene
"Several specialty coffee shops have opened in Basel in recent years," Felipe says. "We are something like a friendly, conspiratorial community. Daniska and Draft Coffee, for example, are very good." Basel's scene is small but growing quickly. Each shop has its own identity -- some focus purely on filter, others on espresso, some roast in-house. The variety is healthy for the city.
What makes Basel's specialty coffee movement interesting is how recent it is. Zurich, Bern, and Geneva had established specialty scenes years earlier. Basel caught up fast, and the quality is now on par with any Swiss city. The audience is here -- between the pharma industry, the university, and the international community, there is a population that travels frequently, encounters specialty coffee abroad, and expects the same quality at home.
Education and Community
From the start, we wanted BRÜ to be more than a place to buy coffee. Education is a core part of what we do:
- Free cupping sessions -- monthly sensory workshops where guests learn the SCA cupping protocol with 3-4 origins side by side. No experience needed.
- Home Brewing Course -- hands-on training in V60, AeroPress, Chemex, and other filter methods.
- Home Barista Course -- espresso fundamentals for home machines.
- Latte Art Masterclass -- microfoam science and pouring techniques.
- Professional Barista Bootcamp -- intensive training for aspiring or working baristas.
These courses are not just about technique -- they are about building a community of people who care about what they drink. Many of our workshop participants become regulars. Some have gone on to careers in coffee.
What Comes Next
BRÜ is still young, and there is plenty we want to do. Expanding our workshop program, growing the online shop to reach coffee lovers beyond Basel, deepening our sourcing relationships with producers, and continuing to introduce specialty coffee to people who have never tried it. Basel proved there was demand for better coffee. Now the question is how far we can take it.
And who knows -- maybe someone is now commuting from Zurich to Basel for a cup.
Based on an interview published in the Basler Zeitung.
Written by Felipe Fernandez, co-founder of BRÜ Specialty Coffee in Basel.