Berlin, Dublin and New York are the top ranking cities for cafe culture, according to a report by international real estate advisor Savills.

As part of the Tech Cities research programme, Savills created an index to evaluate cafe culture by measuring the availability, quality and popularity of cafes with tech users along with the average cost of a flat white, the coffee of choice for industry aficionados. This cultural phenomenon  has come to epitomise what a tech city is, and has become a good barometer of a city’s tech hub credentials. Cafes offer free Wi-Fi, workspace, a place to hold meetings and an opportunity to network and meet likeminded individuals.

Berlin’s  Kruezberg, the epicentre of Kaffeekultur in the city  has recently emerged as a significant tech hub, alongside its flourishing subculture and fashion industry. Topping the index for availability, quality, visitors and price, the average flat white in the city costs $3.36, beaten only by Tel Aviv and Mumbai. 

Yolande Barnes, director of Savills World Research, comments: “A growing ‘flat white culture’ is an indication of the tech industry taking hold of a local economy. Cafe culture is a good sign of human capital and suggests a vibrant and creative environment, attracting a young and talented population – the key to  making a tech city. Conventional metrics no longer apply when attracting new enterprises, people will instead be looking for the life of the city itself, its streets, its shops, its markets, its culture and cool hangouts rather than high-spec floorspace.”

Savills Flat White Index (availability, quality, cafe visitors and cost)

Overall Index Rank     City    Flat white cost (USD)
1    Berlin    $3.36
2    Dublin    $3.47
3    New York    $4.00
4    Singapore    $3.72
5    London    $4.04
6    San Francisco    $3.75
7    Tel Aviv    $3.00
8    Hong Kong    $4.39
9    Stockholm    $4.45
10    Austin    $4.30
11    Mumbai    $1.63
12    Seoul    $5.54

Source: Savills World Research