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Updated on Aug 18, 2025
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Best Specialty Coffee Shops in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland
Adelboden, Grindelwald, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Lenk & Thun
I don’t know about you but all that fresh mountain air is making me thirsty for a cup of coffee. It used to be impossible to find specialty coffee anywhere outside the bigger cities in Switzerland, let alone in the countryside. But things really turned around in the last eight to ten years or so. We saw specialty coffee shops and roasteries popping up in tourist places of interest like Interlaken, Grindelwald and Thun as well as serene mountains villages like Lenk and Adelboden. Here’s where to pick up a quality caffeine kick while exploring the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland.
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Even though Kira Heer initially started roasting coffee to finance her geography studies in Germany, this side job would eventually lead her to open Thun’s very first specialty coffee roastery. When she moved to Switzerland with her husband and young daughter, finding work as a geographer proved challenging, which pushed her back to what else she knew best – coffee. I discovered that her journey began humbly with a coffee mobile on Thun’s streets, where she tested whether locals were ready for specialty coffee by serving it, often for free, while capsules still dominated the Swiss coffee market.
Today, they’ve gone from initially roasting as little as 50 kilograms monthly to an impressive 1,500 kilos, with beans from 12 countries, all organic and fairly traded, and served at their coffee shop near the train station of Thun. The café itself has become what locals describe as a “place to be,” especially on Saturdays when you can’t get a table without a reservation. Beyond serving excellent coffee, they offer homemade cakes, vegan dishes, and an impressive range of courses including barista training, coffee cuppings, and roasting workshops, which reflects Kira’s belief that survival in specialty coffee requires multiple pillars of business. Just recently they’ve expanded to Interlaken with a second location, proving that even after ten years, Rösterei Heer’s journey is far from over.
Grindelwald
Finding proper coffee in tourist-heavy mountain towns typically proves challenging, yet EigerBean emerges as Grindelwald’s unexpected answer to third wave demands. My search for something beyond fully automated coffee machines led me down Dorfstrasse, where the roastery and coffee shop sits in prime location. No pretense here, just a working roaster, a Stronghold S9X, taking center stage while a window opens to dramatic mountain scenery and worn furniture invite lingering. Marco Münch, who founded EigerBean in 2023, is in charge of the roasting.
I chatted with the barista about their rotating bean selections and brewing methods, which include filter coffee brewed in batches. When sunshine breaks through, a handful of outdoor spots open up on the terrace. The only thing overshadowing the coffee here is the gorgeous Alpine backdrop.
Lauterbrunnen
The Cycling Bean Coffee Bike sits right on the path to Staubbachfall in Lauterbrunnen. You can’t miss it. The bike serves beans roasted by Henauer, a reputable Swiss roaster with decades of experience. A blend of 80 percent Arabica and 20 percent Robusta is hitting the mark for most.
It’s a simple setup. The barista parks the bike in the same spot most days, close enough to the falls that you can hear the water. Hikers fuel up here before the climb or grab their espresso with or without milk on the way back. Nothing fancy, just quality coffee exactly where you need it.
Lenk
Located inside Lenk’s train station, Espressionist transforms what was once a ticketing office into a cosy specialty coffee destination. Annick Voutat discovered her coffee passion during hotel school in Hong Kong, where standing behind an espresso machine changed everything. Now she’s bringing that same energy to this Alpine village, roasting beans on a one-kilo Bullet and carefully educating locals about proper extraction.
Turning this space into a cafe wasn’t easy, construction approvals, wall removals, yet the SBB landlords remain refreshingly hands-off, allowing Annick to expand freely. She sources sail-shipped beans through Belco, maintaining three roast profiles including a house blend of Brazil and India. Local partnerships define the space: a closeby bakery supplies pastries, Lenk dairy provides the milk, and Swiss producers fill the fridges.
What strikes me most is her patient approach to introducing specialty coffee. Rather than overwhelming traditionalists, she gradually wins them over with quality. The Aeropress serves perfectly for rushed train commuters, though filter coffee remains a harder sell. Still, positioned right where travelers and locals intersect, Espressionist proves that even the smallest mountain towns enjoys exceptional coffee.
Adelboden
Behind the backdrop of the Engstligen Falls, there’s a beverage market in Adelboden, where Thomas Hari is roasting carefully selected green coffees, continuing a tradition that goes back to when locals would roast their own beans in pans over open fires.
His roastery sits inside the Getränkemarkt at 1,300 meters elevation, where Thomas works his drum roaster with meticulous handwork. He started in 2018, though the story of coffee roasting in these mountains stretches back much further. In earlier times, Adelboden residents would buy raw coffee beans from the colonial goods shop and roast them at home, portion by portion, filling their kitchens with that unmistakable aroma. Thomas, who happens to be both a wine and coffee sommelier, is keeping this hands-on approach alive while bringing his own expertise to each small batch.
While Thomas is roasting his individually selected coffees in one corner, the Getränkemarkt continues its daily business of selling wines and spirits to locals and tourists alike. It’s this combination that feels so uniquely Swiss – practical yet passionate, traditional yet innovative. The spectacular mountain setting doesn’t hurt either, with those falls providing a constant reminder that you’re experiencing coffee culture at altitude, far from any urban coffee scene.
This article is part of a series of coffee stories from Switzerland. Schweiz Tourismus have been amazing in supporting this project with a Swiss Travel Pass. You can find more information about tourism in Switzerland here: www.myswitzerland.com
