Turn Intention Into Action
Coffee culture and Third Wave coffee in the Netherlands is strong and flourishing. Next to Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands is the next biggest consumer of coffee in Europe. And though I can never relate to the Dutch “drinking and going out” culture, I can definitely connect with them through the love of a good cup of coffee. The city centre of my little town alone boasts six different cafés serving freshly-brewed espresso every single day within a two hundred meter radius.
In a bigger town like Amsterdam, I’m sure there’s more than double, maybe even triple, that amount. And as someone who loves café culture and coffee culture in general, I find it exciting trying out new cafés. Whether it’s new places popping around my town, or new aesthetic cafés I discover around bigger cities in Holland.
So I decided to try six cafés in Amsterdam, for the first time. Judging (from my very subjected definition of a good cup of coffee) their atmosphere, staff and service, and the quality of their coffee. As well as enjoying new areas of Amsterdam I have yet to discover~
Visiting 6 Cafés in Amsterdam | vlog
Petit gâteau
Technically not a coffee place but a specialised French patisserie in Amsterdam. They make high quality, delicious mini gateaus, they have croissants and other pastries and the best part, they have a small but great tea selection along with their delicious coffee. Haarlemmerstraat feels like a secret street slightly away from the busy ones usually crowded by tourists but once you find the café, I encourage you to try out some of their cakes and maybe spend some time enjoying coffee.
Haarlemmerstraat 80, 1013 EV Amsterdam
Café Nobuya
A cute and quaint place over at Herenstraat. On the way to the café, you can admire the canals and the scenery of the city but it’s still tucked away that you’re not overwhelmed by tourists. I recommend trying their mochi donuts (so soft, so good, nothing like it in NL imho) and the champion of their menu, the Matcha Blueberry drink~
Herenstraat 28D, 1015 CB Amsterdam
BOCCAA COFFEE
It’s usually busy so finding seating can be a challenge BUT the coffee and desserts are well worth the commotion. Bonus, their matcha latte is also good!
Kerkstraat 96H, 1017 GP Amsterdam
UN.COMMON
A small space but the exterior is so aesthetically pleasing and inviting it’s hard not to spend time here enjoying the cacophony of strangers—both Dutch and English alike— while gazing outside their big window, people watching.
Eerste Constantijn Huygensstraat 63H, 1054 BT Amsterdam
CAFECITO °C
They have many branches across the city and it’s a great motivator to explore a different branch to see if the vibe in that part of Amsterdam is any different. I visited the one on Van Baerlestraat and basked under their sunny counters with my flat white. I am always a sucker for white and copper aesthetic and Cafecito gives you just that.
Van Baerlestraat 83, 1071 AS Amsterdam
LOCALS Specialty Coffee
The name is quite confusing because I know two other cafés outside Amsterdam with the same name but different brands lol
But I’m talking about the specialty coffee nook by De Pijp. Staff are cool and they play cool music while you wait for your coffee. The cortado is okay but I really enjoyed the Matcha Strawberry!
Ferdinand Bolstraat 21-B, 1072 LB Amsterdam
Sitting alone with my flat white, my journal or book, listening to strangers around me rave about their week or their love lives makes me feel as if I am a part of the scenery. though I am more and more comfortable with my role as an ever-moving, liminal bossqueen, sometimes I do wish I had a place where I could go— where people recognise me, greet me and ask me how my week’s been— and feel like i’m a part of something bigger than myself, bigger than my apartment. A third place of some sort.
I’m comfortable being the alien, being the unknown, being the other. But at times when I feel like I’m catching up with a friend, I pick a café where the seats are packed together. When I feel like I need a push getting my tasks done, I sit at a café where laptops are allowed and where students go to do projects and brainstorm. And when I’m feeling particularly overwhelmed, I sit outside a café terrace on a cold day, knowing nobody would even dare to disrupt a slice of peace I’m enjoying with my cake slice.
Coffee and cafés kinda gives me that satisfaction. That break. That level of community and camaraderie people may find when they go out to bars and pubs (I don’t drink alcohol).
Maybe it’s just a place where you get a paper cup with black liquid. Maybe it’s a chain. Maybe you like the sweet coffee drinks more. To each their own. But I hope the next time you happen to find yourself in Amsterdam, or when you notice a new specialty coffee pop up in your neighbourhood, you’ll take a chance and try.
I hope you’ll get a chance to taste that’s something that’s more than coffee.
~
What other coffee places in Amsterdam do you recommend? I’m curious to know and I will always go out of my way to try new coffee. Thanks for reading!
