At night, a group of angry Berliners threw red paint at the door of a coffee shop and wrote “Boycott LAP” on the wall.
The next day, frustrated staff at 15 Life Between People (LAP) cafes across Berlin lugged heavy buckets of water and began wiping off the paint.
Far-left activists are believed to be behind mafia-style paint attacks on new coffee chains popping up across Germany.
They were angry about the disruptive business model of cafes selling coffee at low prices. Baristas sell cappuccinos in bright blue cardboard cups for €2.50 (£2) – half the price of rivals – in a city where a cup of coffee can easily cost at least €4.50.
While the chain was warmly received in Munich and Hamburg, Berlin’s competitive café culture was less popular.
Graphic designer Kyla Hurrell says she loves blue cups in cafes – Geoff Pugh/The Telegraph
The outrage over LAP’s rapid expansion, which relies on viral social media marketing, is the latest sign of a culture clash in the German capital, where a new international cohort of young hipsters live side by side with older Berlin natives.
LAP chief executive Ralph Hage told The Telegraph in a phone interview that he had always dreamed of busting the myth that coffee had to taste good or be cheap, but never both.
“It’s an opportunity to create a culture similar to what I grew up with and build a community,” said Mr. Haag, who is originally from Lebanon and previously worked at Deliveroo-style food service company Deliveroo.
“The more business side of the story is that there’s an opportunity for coffee – it’s a big part of my life, a major ritual in my life – that Germany views coffee as either a low-quality product or a luxury product,” he added. “We want to democratize access to coffee—good, affordable coffee.”
But there is nothing democratic about the LAP to Berlin’s passionate far-left activists, who see it as the embodiment of brutal, aggressive capitalism.
In recent months, a mysterious organization called “LAP Coffee Scheisse” [LAP Coffee Sh–]”Accused of throwing red paint in front of the chain store in Berlin.
The chain has 16 stores in Berlin and its coffee is half the price of other stores – Geoff Pugh/The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph understands LAP baristas were also harassed at work, with activists storming into the store and hurling abuse at them. Some also yelled at customers holding blue cups about their immoral taste in coffee shops.
LAP Coffee Scheisse member Mario, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was concerned that the coffee chain was part of a broader “neoliberal, capitalist” shift in Berlin over the past few years.
“They come from the food delivery industry, where the working conditions are terrible,” he said of LAP, referring to Mr. Hager’s previous position at a German food delivery startup. “We want a city that is not dominated by big capital, not ruled by power. They have a lot of capital, but they have one goal, and that’s very clear: to make huge profits.”
LAP denies this and blames their trading model for putting family-run local cafes out of business. Its staff believe LAP’s small, no-frills shops – where the default is buying takeaway coffee in cardboard cups – offer a completely different experience than cafes, where people can sit and chat with friends for hours.
“It’s difficult for us”
Berlin cafe owners had only negative things to say about the rise of LAP when contacted by the Daily Telegraph, but none of them wanted to reveal their identities.
“It’s very difficult for us. Yes, it’s good for people looking for cheap coffee, but everything is getting more expensive for independent owners and they are driving down prices,” said a 29-year-old worker at a cafe in Prenzlauer Berg.
“Their marketing strategy is very aggressive and very hyped, but they are able to do it because they have big investors,” said another employee at a family-run cafe not far from the LAP store.
“But for family-owned businesses, independent cafes, the rental prices are crazy, like five to six thousand euros a month,” he said. “So your prices have to go up, but at the same time you can’t do that because there are two LAPs and a cappuccino costs 2.50 euros.
“Besides, making coffee requires style,” he adds, looking sadly at a jar of bright green powder he uses to make matcha lattes. “It shouldn’t just be about pressing a button on a machine and saying, let’s go get a cappuccino.”
Activists believe the chain is part of a wider “neoliberal, capitalist” shift in Berlin – Geoff Pugh/The Telegraph
LAP has achieved extraordinary success through its social media reach. The company’s Instagram and TikTok accounts are run by two young British women, who said the cafe’s low prices were generally welcomed with “open arms” due to the cost of living crisis.
“We know people have strong opinions about LAP and it can be very polarizing,” said Charlotte Lockton, 25, a social media associate at the chain. “I had friends contact me after the vandalism happened but everyone was very supportive because I had explained it was a great company and the staff were great.”
Rebecca O’Keeffe, 26, LAP’s social media manager, insisted: “We haven’t closed any shops and in fact some businesses have reported an increase in customer traffic since LAP opened in their area.
“We don’t want any coffee shops to go out of business. We’re not robots.”
Sitting outside the Prenzlauer Berg branch, 29-year-old South African graphic designer Kyla Hurrell said the cups made her a loyal LAP customer.
“As a graphic designer, I’m very interested in this brand,” she said, admiring one of the chain’s blue paper cups. “It’s affordable, tastes great and is a really cool cup of coffee. I also like how they keep up with trends. I’m from South Africa and although a cup of coffee there costs about 20 rand (90p), I think the prices here are in the middle of the pack.”
In up-and-coming Neukölln (Berlin’s Shoreditch), locals seem to be divided over the influx of LAP shops, which offer, in the eyes of some, suspiciously cheap caffeine.
“They have a lot of discounts”
“The first time I heard about them was through TikTok, about this hostile takeover system of offering cheap coffee and expanding in Berlin. So at first I was against it. Then I tried the coffee and it was actually very good,” said Tim Berendse, a 33-year-old advertising worker.
“So I thought, why not cash in on coffee while it’s still cheap? They also have a lot of discounts. But the most important thing for me is that it tastes good.”
“I’ve heard some bad things about it, but on the other hand it’s very cheap and coffee shop prices are generally quite high,” added Eva Kramlinger, 35. “So maybe it’s a good thing that some places offer lower prices.”
Florian Koch, professor of urban development at Berlin University of Applied Sciences, said the backlash was also linked to anger over Berlin’s gentrification.
After all, the capital was once considered an avant-garde hideout for the likes of David Bowie and other avant-garde artists, but these days it feels increasingly commercial.
Despite the backlash, Ms O’Keefe said: “People are embracing it and enjoying it. I think people recognize that we’re here now.”
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