Sampling Amsterdam’s Finest Product (Coffee Obviously…)
Inspired by the stories of Will, Martin and Oscar, James, one of our latest recruits headed to Amsterdam and checked out Uncommon’s new bar and Dak’s new showroom and more. Here is his blog..
As a relatively new employee of the great Mr Velasquez and Mr Van Wezel, when I told them I was heading on an impromptu winter trip to Amsterdam, I was hesitant over whether I would even be allowed the time off work during the busy Christmas period. Unaware of their copious generosity, I was pleasantly surprised when I was both granted leave and the ability to sample a variety of coffee and brunches on the house! Having been inundated with recommendations from Martin, my girlfriend, Dalia, and I set out from Stansted Airport on a quiet Monday morning, eager to experience the wonders of Amsterdam, a city which had long been on both of our bucket lists.
Once we had landed and become easily acclimatised with weather very much on par with that of England’s temperate climate, we headed to our hotel; a light half an hour walk from Amsterdam’s Centraal station. Having successfully navigated the car-free and bike-heavy streets, we arrived at Hotel Calisto where we were immediately greeted with free espressos from its restaurant. This was obviously done to counter the arduous and time consuming 45 minute flight from London (one of the shortest commercial flights in Europe) and was a highly necessary activity, further stimulating our excitement for what was to come over the following days.
Having enjoyed an amazing dinner of fritters, olives, cured meats, various pickled vegetables, fish tartar, and beef ragu pasta (you name it, we had it!), and feeling slightly worse for wear having sampled arguably one too many glasses from their extensive wine list, we set out the following morning to our first coffee shop. Situated in an ideal location of exactly five metres opposite Hotel Calisto, Good Beans held many coffee brands which frequenters of VVW will be familiar with, including Dak and Uncommon. We sampled a blend from a brand the name of which I will not mention in this blog for fear of offending readers (see picture below) but which certainly did the job of clearing our rather foggy minds.
Throughout the day we explored Amsterdam’s picturesque canals and did some Christmas shopping, before settling in Twee Prinsen – a beautiful wine bar, containing equally beautiful small plates. An honourable mention to the jazz bar we visited afterwards is necessary – Jazz Café Alto is a must if you are visiting Amsterdam, incredible atmosphere, transported us back to the early 20th century jazz heyday, awesome performance which changes most nights.
The following day I switched into nerdy barista mode and channelled my inner Will (VvW’s finest head barista and fellow blogger), visiting both Uncommon’s café and bar, before heading to Dak’s sparkly new coffee showroom. Both of these companies are a staple to VvW’s retail section and have made appearances in our guest espresso grinder should anyone be interested. Again, Will is the person to talk to – I can guarantee he will know whatever blends we are selling inside and out…
Uncommon’s café was a short twenty minute walk from our hotel and it did not disappoint. The kimchi on toast was spectacular, rivalled only, I’m told, by Dalia’s mushrooms on toast. The bar (situated opposite from the café) was everything that you would expect: suave, elegant, and, unsurprisingly, full of fellow coffee lovers. We sampled the El Palto (Peru) blend which, even with my unrefined pallet, had lovely hints of orange and chocolate. Uncommon continued to impress when I learnt that profits from this particular blend were used to aid women’s equity and business skills in Peruvian plantations, whilst also supporting and protecting indigenous Peruvian forests. A 10/10 experience.
Dak’s showroom is located at Bellamyplein, quite a walk from our hotel but worth the extra steps. Inside it boasts an industrial grandeur, housing elegant concrete columns and intricate bits of coffee equipment, clearly designed to lure any unsuspecting coffee nerd to empty their wallet on entirely necessary coffee centred upgrades. Approaching the head barista, I casually dropped the fact that I worked for Martin and Oscar and was instantly rewarded with two funky cups of espresso (pays to know!), which Dalia and I sipped whilst admiring the surrounding view. The showroom is a must for any coffee enthusiast – word on the grape vine is that their cupping sessions are rivalled only by that of the great VvW’s!
As a quick get away from London, Amsterdam certainly lived up to expectations. Food, wine, coffee, views, bars, cafés, shops; it’s got everything. Would thoroughly recommend.
Here are the details of the places James visited:
Coffee:
Dak – Bellamyplein 16H, 1053 AS, Amsterdam
Uncommon Bar – Eerste Constantijn Huygensstraat 86H, 1054 BT, Amsterdam
Good Beans – Binnen Oranjestraat 4, 1013 JA, Amsterdam
Food and wine:
Twee Prinsen – Prinsenstraat 27, 1015 DB, Amsterdam
Uncommon Café – Eerste Constantijn Huygensstraat 63H, 1054 BT, Amsterdam
Jazz Café Alto – Korte Leidsedwarsstraat 115, 1017 PX, Amsterdam
Café De Pijp – Ferdinand Bolstraat 17-19, 1072 LA, Amsterdam
Bagel Boy – Albert Cuypstraat 190, 1073 BN, Amsterdam
Calisto Restaurant – Haarlemmerdijk 61, 1013 KB, Amsterdam