Coffee Crawl Eindhoven: Where to Drink Coffee in Eindhoven

People from Amsterdam never want to travel outside the capitol of the lowlands. Everything you need is at a palm's reach. Although the Netherlands is a small, tiny country, everything outside of the ring is far far away land for the Amsterdammers. And so, most coffee places I know in the Netherlands are located in Amsterdam. Of course I can name others, but most I have never seen in real life with my own eyes. And so my friend 'B' and me decided to travel. Take the trains and discover all the lovely coffee spots outside of our hometown.

This time we finally went to Eindhoven. A few years ago there really was no specialty coffee scene to talk about in this city, but since a couple of years bars have been popping up like crazy. These are the ones we visited.

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Coffeelab UC

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address: Stationsplein 17

espresso machine: Kees vd Westen Spirit

coffee: Douwe Egberts and private label by Denf

CoffeeLab, just outside the central train station, does not look very appealing from the outside. A strange little white house, with a weird red roof, topped by a huge television screen. But the inside is very warm and welcoming. It is filled with all the expected coffee bar accessories; light wood, plants hanging from the ceiling, coffee plants...the walls are plastered with coffee filters, the water is served in wine glasses. For some it might be a little too much, such as the sign saying 'we miss you already', but we all know that there are lots of people out there who love it.

We ordered some flat whites and an espresso from the house blend, a mix of Brazil and Ethiopia. The flat whites were as you would like them to be; creamy with a bite. The espresso was under extracted though, resulting in a very sour and slightly salty brew.

Lucifer

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address: Kleine Berg 47

espresso machine: Kees vd Westen Spirit

coffee: Blommers

When we stepped through the door of Lucifer, they had just been open for one week. And it showed. The space still feels very empty and it was obvious the people working the bar and the floor need to settle in to their roles. We ordered two coffees, a Kenya and an Ethiopian, both as espresso and filter. We also ordered some bread with avocado spread. Although we were warned that the filter and the bread would take some time, honestly a person should not have to wait more than 20 minutes for a coffee and a good 45 minutes for some bread. Especially when there are about 6 customers in the store...

All the coffees were a little over-extracted, but you could taste the potential. And Lucifer in general has a lot of potential. The beans are good and the space with its big tables scream out for students or freelancers to get their laptop out and do some work. They are just not there, yet. Lucifer is like those new skinny jeans, which are a struggle to get on and are just not that comfortable yet, but that in time might become your favourite pair.

Stadsbranderij Eindhoven

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address: Bergstraat 12

espresso machine: Kees vd Westen Mirage

coffee: own roastery

If you do not know what you are looking for, you will walk straight by the Stadsbranderij and what a shame that would be. To get there you need to walk through a tiny alleyway and on a sharp right you enter a lovely little floral courtyard. In the little house of the courtyard is a small cafe and roastery. It is an eclectic mix of funny, funky furniture, that just fit together. 

We absolutely enjoyed sitting outside with our flat white, espresso and cascara-berry tea. And although I did not really appreciate the vessels, a thin pottery which felt strange on the lips, the coffee was great. The coffee, the vibe, the peacefulness, the Stadsbranderij is a little get away, where you could sit and sip with friends all day.

CoffeeYou

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address: Clausplein 4

espresso machine: Kees vd Westen Mirage

coffee: private label by DBC

Coffee You was put on our to do list just a few hours before our coffee crawl. And it was really, really worth it. Okay, the space, not really sexy. Quite empty, standard square tables with a soft bench on one side and standard chairs on the others. But Coffee You carry a vast array of coffees, teas and fine chocolate bars, which you can also buy for at home. Great and warm service, and the cortados, white tea and espresso were all tasty, well made and balanced. 

't Koffiehuisje

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address: Ketelhuisplein 1

espresso machine: Kees vd Westen Mirage lever

coffee: Bocca

This is such a teenie, tiny, itsy, bitsy, tight little space filled with odd items and tit bits. To compensate they have a huge terrace looking out over an old Philips factory, making the view spectacular. The coffees we ordered, cortados and espressos, again Kenya and Sidamo, were pretty good. The foam on the cortados was a little thick and dry, but still sweet. 

Intelligentia ICE

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address: Leidingstraat 43

espresso machine: La Marzocco Linea

coffee: Single Estate

The first time I came across this company online, I was like 'What! Does Intelligentsia have a pop up store in Eindhoven? Why does nobody know this?!'...and they don't. 

Intelligentia, sans the 's', ICE is a place to drink good tea and coffee and enjoy shudderingly good ice cream in odd flavours, while enjoying the playful interior, colours and ambiance. I myself ravished a watermelon-mint and orange-pepper combo, that still follows me in my dreams. It's a good thing Eindhoven is more than an hour-and-a-half away, because I would visit this place every single day.

All in all the trip to Eindhoven was filled with Kees vd Westen machines, good coffee, good tea and well furnished and designed coffee bars. We had a blast, and we did not even visit Philips, Daf, the van Abbe museum or Flaconcrest.

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Want to see more Coffee Crawl Eindhoven edition? Check out the album on the Coffee Strides Facebook page. 

Want to read about the other Coffee Crawls? Check out the other editions.