Eberhofer and Birkenberger roast coffee for the BR show – “I found that I don’t like it”
Created: 06/13/2022, 22:11
By: Thomas Eldersch
Birkenberger (l.) and Eberhofer alias Simon Schwarz and Sebastian Bezzel visit special people all over Bavaria in the BR program "Bezzel & Schwarz - Die Grenzgänger".
© Screenshot BR “Bezzel & Schwarz – The Border Crossers”
The actors Simon Schwarz and Sebastian Bezzel are traveling for BR in Bavaria.
For the latest edition of their show, they stopped in Augsburg.
Augsburg – you are back on tour.
The actors Sebastian Bezzel and Simon Schwarz – better known to many by their role names Eberhofer and Birkenberger from the Eberhofer crime novels – are shooting together again.
But this time, the two friends don't have to solve any crimes.
As part of the BR program "Bezzel & Schwarz - Die Grenzgänger" you will visit special people in Bavaria.
In the latest episode, they stop in Augsburg.
BR show “Bezzel & Schwarz – Die Grenzgänger”: Visiting the MAK coffee specialties in Augsburg
With the mobile home, the first thing to do is to look for a parking space in the Fuggerstadt.
After several parking attempts by Schwarz and a few more or less serious parking aid attempts by Bezzel, they set out for MAK coffee specialties.
The small family business is run by Katharina and Allan Mutagwaba.
Both met and fell in love in Augsburg at the university while studying business administration.
Meanwhile, "Junior boss" Clemens (four weeks old) completes the young love.
Allan is originally from Tanzania and the question arose for him: "Do I want to stay here after my studies or come back and bring with me what I've learned here."
The decision was made - also because of the love for Katharina - on Germany.
Now the question was how the young couple would want to earn their living.
Or as Schwarz pointedly put it in the BR show: "There are certainly many reasons to open a café, but why did you open a café?" And in fact there were two good reasons for adding another coffee house to the city on the Lech enrich.
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Bezzel and Schwarz do their own coffee roasting
For one thing, Allan Mutagwaba's family in Tanzania had a long coffee tradition.
You no longer grow it yourself, but you still have many relationships with coffee farmers in Allan's home country.
Secondly, a radio clip made a decisive contribution to the decision-making process.
“The Germans drink so much coffee.
160 liters a year, the moderator said at the time," reports Allan.
This would equate to filling a bath tub, or seven cups a day per person.
So it was clear to the couple that they could make money with it.
Schwarz (left) and Bezzel (right) as guests at Mak coffee specialties in Augsburg.
The owners are Katharina and Allan Mutagwaba.
© Screenshot BR, "Bezzel & Schwarz - The Border Crossers"
Meanwhile, business with the black brew is going well.
Produced under fair conditions - "we pay three times the normal market price," says Allan - they import several 60-kilo sacks to Germany.
There, in the shop in Augsburg, the beans are roasted themselves.
Of course, Bezzel and Schwarz insisted on putting their hands on the roasting machine themselves.
Although the Austrian Schwarz almost lifts a fracture when shouldering the coffee sack, "How much is that, 150 kilos?"
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In the BR show, actor Schwarz tries a coffee for the first time in 30 years
But the couple is not only fair to the 30 coffee farmers from Tanzania from whom they buy their goods.
They give back even more to Allan's homeland.
"For every kilo of coffee sold, one euro goes to Tanzania," says Allan.
This has already made it possible to build concrete classrooms for children.
The aim of the young family is to give every village in its home region access to education.
At the end, Bezzel and Schwarz can of course try the Germans' favorite drink.
A small premiere for Black.
"Maybe 30 years ago I tried a coffee and realized that I didn't like it," says the Birkenberger actor on the BR show.
But he is courageous and tries his hand at an espresso.
The TV viewer can find out for himself whether his opinion has changed afterwards.
The program "Bezzel & Schwarz - Die Grenzgänger" is on Monday, June 13, at 8:15 p.m. on Bayerischer Rundfunk.
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