Bonbonmacherei Kolbe & Stecher

In the Heckmann-Höfe on Oranienburger Straße, Katja Kolbe and Hjalmar Stecher cook candies in a copper kettle using old recipes. Through the glass show kitchen, one can watch how woodruff leaves and raspberry drops are made.

Kolbe & Stecher Confectionery: Candies from the Copper Kettle in the Heckmann-Höfe

Already in the passage to the Heckmann-Höfe on Oranienburger Straße, it smells of cooked sugar. Behind it is the small manufactory of Katja Kolbe and Hjalmar Stecher. In the early 1990s, they learned the traditional art of candy making, thereby preserving a craft that had almost disappeared in Berlin. They also rescued old machines and original recipes. The confectionery is the only one of its kind in Berlin, and a show kitchen directly in the shop was a nationwide rarity for a long time.

From the Copper Kettle Directly into the Bag

Sugar, glucose syrup, water, and food coloring are cooked in the copper kettle. Afterwards, the mixture cools on a stainless steel plate, gets its flavor, and is stamped out with approximately 100-year-old molds. Customers can watch the process through the glass show kitchen; production times can be inquired about by phone in advance.

The assortment ranges from sour to spicy, from caramel and licorice to honey and herbs. Popular varieties include raspberry drops, extra-sour lime candies, and the Berlin woodruff leaves, with which everything began for the two of them. For the brave, there’s the „Fire Raspberry“ with cayenne pepper.