Grüezi! (German) / Bonjour! (French)
Einen Kaffee, bitte
EYE-nen KAF-feh, BIT-teh
A coffee, please (German)
Un café, s'il vous plaît
uhn ka-FAY, seel voo PLAY
A coffee, please (French)
Die Rechnung / L'addition
dee RECH-noong / lad-ee-see-OHN
The bill, please
Switzerland's default coffee: a long espresso served with a small jug of cream on the side. The Swiss Americano equivalent.
Standard espresso. Swiss precision means consistently high quality.
A Swiss specialty: a longer, milder coffee brewed under pressure, named after the crema ('Schümli' = little foam).
A Lucerne specialty: coffee 'baptized' with schnapps. Various regional variations exist across Switzerland.
Popular at specialty cafes, especially in Zurich.
Switzerland is the headquarters of Nespresso, Nestlé, and some of the world's largest coffee trading firms. The country punches above its weight in global coffee influence.
Kafi Crème (not Americano) is the standard order. It comes with cream on the side — not in the cup.
Swiss cafes are precise, clean, and efficient — reflecting the national character.
Zurich's Kreis 4 and Kreis 5 districts have the best specialty cafes.
Coffee prices in Switzerland are among the highest in the world. A basic coffee can cost CHF 4-6 ($4.50-7).
Switzerland has four official languages. Cafe culture varies between the German, French, Italian, and Romansh regions.
Service included by law. Rounding up to the nearest franc is common.
CHF 4.50-6.50 ($5-7.50) for standard coffee, CHF 6-8 at specialty cafes
Did you know? Switzerland doesn't grow a single coffee bean, yet it's the world's largest coffee trading hub — more than 60% of global coffee futures are traded through Swiss firms.