Austrian Coffee and Culture

Coffee’s first appearance in the country can be traced back to the exact year of 1683, when Turkish invaders were forced to leave by Allied Forces head by the Polish Habsburg Army. It’s said that they left in such a hurry, they left some of their belongings, of which included sacks of what appeared to be small brown pellets. Confused by this discovery, it was originally thought that the sacks contained camel food and they were very nearly burnt if it were not for Polish King Jan III Sobieski who gave the beans to an officer called Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki. Spending some time experimenting with the beans, he thought to add milk and sugar to the bizarre pellets and with that, he discovered coffee and opened Vienna’s first ever coffee house.

One thing to note about Vienna coffee houses is that they’re very old (some of the oldest, in fact) and incredibly elegant. Expect high ceilings, stunning chandeliers, smartly dressed waiters and a diverse range of people that can include everything from writers to friends catching up. Regular customers to Viennese coffee houses are called ‘stamgast’ and are treated with the utmost respect, staff will know their order by heart, preferred table and some will even go above and beyond and ensure it’s reserved at their usual calling time.

When it comes to the act of serving coffee, it’s almost always presented on a small silver tray with a glass of water and occasionally a small chocolate alongside it.

When visiting a Viennese coffee house, if you simply try to order ‘coffee’, it’s highly likely your smartly dressed waiter will meet you with a look of disdain. One of the reasons for this is that in Austria, there’s a huge variety of coffee types!

Check out some of the most popular you’ll encounter below - don’t worry though, most Viennese coffee houses include English menus so you won’t need to remember all of these!