How Amsterdam emerged on the European coffee scene

How Amsterdam emerged on the European coffee scene

What’s brewing in Amsterdam? Something fresh, bold and exciting. It seems Amsterdammers are finally waking up and smelling the coffee.

Words by SARAH NAPIER & GLYNIS KROMOPAWIRO

Only one nation in the world averages more than two cups of coffee per person per day: the Netherlands. According to a survey published by The Atlantic in 2014, the Dutch consume more coffee than the United States, United Kingdom, Spain and France combined.

Dutch coffee must be good then, right? Not if you asked caffeine-seeking expats and self-proclaimed coffee snobs in Amsterdam…until recently. Previously known for prizing quantity over quality, Amsterdam has well and truly arrived on the third wave coffee scene. The city now boasts an expanding list of excellent cafés and roasteries treating locals to some fantastic specialty coffee.

Amsterdam’s scene is relatively new when compared to strongholds of the specialty coffee movement such as Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Canada and the US. Lot Sixty One’s Adam Craig, however, finds Amsterdam “a whole different ball game” compared to where he used to run his coffee business: New York City.

There, “you’ve got office buildings everywhere. I think I had more people living above my shop than I have in this whole neighborhood,” says Adam, pointing to the surroundings of his Kinkerstraat shop. The amount of coffee he sells in Amsterdam is much lower than the hundred or more kilos he could sell in one Big Apple week. “But I enjoy it a bit more here, I get to be closer to the product, the craft.” Local coffee entrepreneurs unanimously give props to larger establishments for kick-starting the movement as early as 1996, and for constantly diversifying to keep up with current trends. Nicolas Castagno, awardwinning barista at Scandinavian Embassy, points out that “it’s often the ‘rebellious children’ of those big establishments who become the new kids on the block, exploding the scene with their small cafés, big ideas and passionate spirits.”

Two of those rebels went on to establish Headfirst Coffee Roasters, the revered and now, sadly, closed coffee bar and roastery. I can assure you the closure had nothing to do with the quality of their coffee or a lack of popularity, but boy, was it great while it lasted. Jonatan Scheeper and Lex Wenneker both started out at one of those early adapters. “Places like Espressofabriek and Screaming Beans started the specialty coffee scene here in Amsterdam. But in my opinion the Coffee Company was really important for the growth of the scene,” says Jonatan.

Jonatan now works for Single Estate Coffee Roasters as a roaster and barista trainer, while Lex was recently crowned Dutch Barista Champion 2016 for the second year running. These boys will be featuring on the Amsterdam coffee circuit for a while to come.

“The Dutch capital continues to impress with a growing number of high quality artisanal coffee roasters.”

The opening of Coffee Company in 1996 was a turning point in Amsterdam’s coffee culture. At a time when no Starbucks (or similar coffee chains) were to be found, there came a casual place for young people to meet for a coffee, people who had never before been lured by the taste of java. Coffee became cool.

Jasper Uhlenbusch remembers the time before he joined the Coffee Company bandwagon in 2008. “Basically, there was just the standard continental coffee. In contrast to the UK and the US, in Europe, including the Netherlands, there were already cafés where you could drink a cappuccino or an espresso.” So the new Dutch coffee bar had to up the game.

Then consumers had to adapt to a cuppa with flavors beyond the familiar strong, dark and bitter. “The locals are getting it more and more,” says Jonatan, “but it is going to take time to recover from a long history of shitty coffee.”

As Amsterdammers become more discerning about food and drink in general, the demand for good quality coffee also increases. The new wave of entrepreneurial café owners, baristas and roasters serving a new breed of coffee-loving customers are catering to just that.

At Scandinavian Embassy, barista Nicolas and chef Rikard Andersson take it one step further, elevating the food offering of a small café beyond the usual smattering of cakes and croissants, with Scandinavian style coffee to complete the experience. Renowned coffee blog Sprudge was so excited by what these guys served up on a recent visit that they boldly posed the question, “Is this coffee’s first Michelin star?” in an article that sent coffee scenesters reeling.

Is this a glimpse of what to expect in the coming years? Jonatan says, “I think that we are moving towards a scene like you would find in Portland or San Franscisco, where every neighborhood has a couple of microroasteries. There will be even more appreciation for good coffee and people will understand that coffee is not just coffee. Also the coffee they drink at home will be better; higher quality beans, better quality roast, freshly ground and brewed to perfection.”

Alex Kitain, the coffee connoisseur responsible for the go-to blog The Coffeevine, has the final word. “In the last three years, Amsterdam went from being the insider’s underdog with only a handful of specialty coffee places to a prominent star on the European coffee scene. It’s quite remarkable actually considering the city’s relatively small size, but the Dutch capital continues to impress with a growing number of high quality artisanal coffee roasters and specialty coffee entrepreneurs who are combining coffee with other products like fashion, music and excellent food. I expect to see more of these concept stores in the near future.”

It looks like the future of coffee in Amsterdam is bright—and complex with a pleasant aftertaste.

Thanks to Jonatan Scheeper, Lex Wenneker, Nicolas Castagno, Adam Craig, Jasper Uhlenbusch, and Adam Kitain for sharing a brew with us. ¢

The Coffeevine

on a hazy morning

Urban renewal in the heart of Amsterdam

Tucked into the heart of Amsterdam, the colorful Wijdesteeg was a true paradise for street art. Every day this alley attracted dozens of tourists and locals who want to see and experience it.

Words & pictures by NICOLE BLOMMERS

The Wijdesteeg is part of the so-called Tabakspanden (tobacco buildings) that faced eviction in March of 2015. Is the eviction of the Tabakspanden a sign of gentrification in one of the most distinctive parts of Amsterdam’s historic city center?

The Tabakpanden’s rich history The Tabakspanden have a very rich history. In the early 1970s, the buildings were owned by Hendrik Tabak, an influential local businessman. In 1974, Mr. Tabak was attacked and robbed inside one of his buildings on the Spuistraat. He died a week later in the hospital as a result of his injuries. After his death, his buildings were given the name ‘Tabakspanden’ (tobacco buildings). One of the buildings that became known as the Slangenpand (snake building) stayed empty for years until it became a squatter’s paradise in the early 1980s. The Slangenpand was taken over by a squatter named Jacques on 6 March 1983, and he lived there until the eviction of the buildings in 2015. Jacques says he has always found this part of Amsterdam quite charming. “It is such a difference from the nearby Palace on Dam Square. You can see it as a symbol of free thinking and tolerance in Amsterdam.”

Changing hands: a new owner Over three decades after the first squatter moved in, most of these buildings were officially being squatted. The Tabakspanden have had eight different owners in the past 30 years. Some of these owners were known as notorious local criminals. Seven years ago, the Slangenpand residents found out about their new landlord in the newspaper: housing association De Key. Possibly a good sign of things to come, as De Key is known for offering low cost housing. Or was this a clue pointing to major changes for these buildings? Then, the law changed: squatting was declared illegal. De Key presented their new plans for the Tabakspanden on their website. Due to the poor condition of the buildings, some of them were to be demolished while others would be renovated. This plan called for a total of 69 apartments and retail spaces. It became apparent that this unique area with its special history would soon become like any other neighborhood in Amsterdam.

Alternative culture and street art The municipality of Amsterdam has always had difficulties with this part of the city center. They never seemed to have full control over it. Over the years, the Wijdesteeg and adjacent Spuistraat have come to possess a distinctive character. What makes it so different? Most people visited the area because of its abundant street art. There was always something being organized, such as a gallery show at Peter Klashorst Gallery or an alternative movie night at De Slang. Before the anti-squatting law came into force, Slangenpand residents had actually been working