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.
The first stop of our coffee crawl; Den Hague. Below a summary of the places we visited.
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CoffeeCompany Korte Poten
address: korte poten 21
espresso machine: la marzocco fb80
coffee: own roastery
We started off in known territory, one of the stores of the CoffeeCompany, where I started my coffee career and where B is still extracting, latte arting and barista-training away. We had a cortado with the New School blend, a blend of Guatemalan and Ethiopian beans. A fresh and sweet coffee that reminds me of my coffee heritage.
The CoffeeCompany is a mix of heavy furniture, with big leather chairs and heavy beamed wooden tables, and light and colourful accents. Sitting there always feels welcome and warm, whether you're in a group or just by yourself with your laptop.
Before we knew it, the place started to fill up and the single shifting barista was a little overwhelmed by the line filing up in front of her, and B jumped in and coffeed away.
Hop & Stork
address: Passage 82
espresso machine: la marzocco linea
coffee: Single Estate
Second stop, and reason for choosing Den Hague as a first stop of your country-wide coffee crawl, is Hop & Stork. Very new and combining chocolate, pastry and coffee, and also lovely tasty tea, is was a must on our list.
Hop & Stork looks more like a chocolaterie when you walk in, because the bonbon display is the first thing you hit. Along the back of the room there is a huge open bar, where you can see people slaving away on pastry and chocolate, and also coffee.
The feeling is more luxury, with staff looking neat and white. The emptiness of the space strengthens this feeling. However, because of the warm welcome you receive makes it a place where everyone feels welcome.
We started with a lovely filter coffee, then I sparkling and fresh espresso-tonic, which was weighed to perfection. A little of the Kochere espresso was served on the side, which gave us the opportunity to either taste this alone or add it to our beverage if we wanted to strengthen it up a bit.
Because all coffees were accompanied by lovely little special bonbon treats, we decided we also wanted to try the pastry. And so we ended our visit with a black, citrusy tea with a passion fruit and mango pastry. It was tastefully awesome.
Hometown
address: buitenhof 4
espresso machine: la marzocco linea
coffee: Douwe Egberts espresso beans and changing filter coffees
Hometown is a very styled place and the line between just perfect and over styled is very thin. The feeling is very much that of a cosy and warm living room, with several board games, a big table, little corner tables and a lot of stuff everywhere.
We went for a chemex with Guatemalan coffee, later we found out it was roasted by the CoffeeCompany. The service was great, but the coffee was just not really what we hoped for. Although there was nothing wrong with it, it just was not exciting. Not sweet, acidic or bitter.
Lola Coffee and Bikes
address: noordeinde 91
espresso machine: la marzocco linea
coffee: bocca coffee roasters
Lola's does not only do coffee, but also the other barista love; bikes. Personally I cannot help but feel where Hometown tries to be cosy and warm, Lola really is. It is a place filled with a lot of stuff, but everything that is present has been picked with love, not because it necessarily will make the place look better.
We had a warm and balanced espresso, roasted by Bocca Coffee Roasters and it did not disappoint at all.
Koffeebranderij Boon
address: prinsestraat 114
espresso machine: la marzocco linea
coffee: own roastery
Boon was the clear winner of the day. The very small store displays their roaster very prominently in the front of the house. They have a small sitting area outside, but on a warm September day no one would mind. The Malawi drip coffee was amazingly sweet, like drinking liquid caramel, but light at the same time. Boon is clean, warm, homely and simple all at the same time and I would go back and back again.
Want to see more Coffee Crawl Den Hague edition? Check out the album on the Coffee Strides Facebook page.
It is really interesting to learn more about your coffee education. My daughter really wants to become a barista, and this coffee company that you were trained with sounds awesome! I especially like that you learned things like latte arting, as well as learning about the different types of beans and blends. Do you know if schools like this are common, or will she probably have to move to a larger city to find one? http://www.chpsoh.com.au/ShortCourses?RecurringEventID=31
ReplyDeleteHi Skylar, sorry for the late response. Where does your daughter live? Most specialty cafes will over some kind of barista training. There are credited courses, you should be able to find them in most places. Just search SCAE or SCAA barista foundation in your local area. But mostly you learn from your colleagues and joining the barista community.
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