Berlin, believe it or not, can be oppressively hot and sticky in summer. Luckily, Berliners can use the heat as an excuse to indulge their passion for Eis at one of the city’s myriad ice cream shops, including my current favourite Anna Durkes in the Graefekiez in Kreuzberg.
Photo: Anna Durkes / Facebook
Photo: Screenshot annadurkes.com
Owners, Anna Luisa and her husband Giorgio Sau, have been selling supremely creamy gelato, coffee and Italian treats from their pretty shop on the Graefestrasse since they swapped Milan for Berlin.
Having, like so many, fallen in love with the city, the couple decided to realise a childhood dream to open an ice cream shop when they made it their home.
Trained in her new craft in Italy, Anna transferred skills from her previous working life in a laboratory creating cosmetics to blending the ingredients for their range of homemade ice creams and sorbets. The flavours on offer vary from day to day – a set of standard flavours is complemented by unique and often experimental specials.
Our gelato is produced daily in small batches, using the finest natural ingredients selected from around the world. We do not use any artificial colors, flavors or preservatives so that you can enjoy our one-of-a-kind and naturally tasty gelato.
The Anna Durkes, the shop’s signature flavour is a vanilla ice cream with peanuts and chocolate – Durkes incidentally derives from ‘durke’, which means sweet in the Sardinian dialect spoken where Anna and Giorgio are from.
It is the Stracciatella though, that really bowled me over.
Having spotted it on my way out the last time I was there, next time I’m determined to try the Brioche con Gelato – brioche loaded with ice cream and cream – the original ice cream sandwich.
Anna Durkes has been around for years now but I only got around to trying it for the first time last summer. I made sure it was the first place I went when Eis Saison started this year though.
So when the heat in Berlin gets too much, do yourself a favour, treat yourself to the real deal and cool down with a delicious ice cream from Anna Durkes.
[…] Read more about Anna Durkes […]