Amsterdam: Coffee Shop ≠ Coffee House

It wasn’t too long ago that the idea of traveling outside of one’s city, one’s tribe, and one’s neighborhood wasn’t worth the risk or the time. If you have everything you need right here, what’s the point of venturing out there? Trouble is — is that modern life often creates a lot of problems ‘right here.’

The first time I left for Europe I was skeptical. Amsterdam was going to be the destination. I had no idea what to expect. I wanted to have a degree of familiarity when I was out there, so I made sure it had a lot of coffee shops. In the case of Amsterdam, what you really want to look for are coffee houses as ‘coffee shops’ are dispensaries. Fine for some but I’m not looking for that type of morning jolt.

Three flights later on this second go round to visit the Dutch, I got to thinking that maybe I’ll spend a little bit of time writing up some coffee travel guides. Not super review-y or tourist-y shit, but more of a roadmap. A paper trail. A coffee trail. A map of locations and clues and thoughts of a simple man doing his best to follow his dream of building a coffee company. And maybe if you decide to follow it, you too can find what it is you’re looking for.

How melodramatic. How me. And maybe how ‘you.’

The first time we visited, we stayed up north outside of the city center. Generally, this isn’t too big of a deal if you’re visiting because the city itself I feel is relatively small. At least when compared to a city like Seattle. Much of Amsterdam can be reached by bike within 15 minutes in any direction so you’re never really too far away from where you’re trying to go.

Since it was our first time to Europe, I had done some research on places to grab a coffee. When I’m doing research on coffee shops … err, houses, I tend to look for a few things:

1) Does the webpage load in English or at least have an ‘EN’ button to click. If so, it tells me I’ve landed on a place that definitely is English speaking and because English has become so engrained in the education system in Europe, there is a really high chance that this particular coffee house falls more on the modern side compared with some of the more traditional type of locations one may find in Italy or France. These types of coffee houses, shops and cafes will tend to their drinks with a certain degree of care that I’m looking for.

2) Do they speak to whether they are their own roaster or do they discuss what roaster they get their beans from? Is it obvious on their webpage or socials? If they are their own roaster, then I almost always put it on the list. A part of what I’m trying to do here is learn from as many places as I possible. A greater variety of roasters I try coffee from, the better I become as a roaster myself. Win for me. Win for you as our customer.

3) Do they have an updated social media page? If so, I can generally get a pretty good read on the type of place they are. Latte art? Food options — because I NEED between 1-3 pastries with every visit. You know, research! Color palette? Hip? Relaxed? All these things go into a decision on whether I will visit.

Armed with intel, the first place we decided to try coffee outside of the USA was SAINT-JEAN in the coveted Jordaan neighborhood. What followed change my life forever.

SAINT-JEAN | @saintjean.nl | https://www.saintjean.nl

I remember walking into SAINT-JEAN after looking at their simple and beautiful webpage. The pastries were the first thing that caught my eye. My word the PASTRIES. We were greeted warmly, and the conversation was smooth and easy. I wondered if my credit card would work. Is this how I pay? Do I tip? Can I get the coffees for here or to-go? (Pro-tip: tipping is generally not something that is expected at coffee houses in Amsterdam. Oh, and if you want your coffee to go, say, ‘for take away.’)

We ordered two oat milk lattes and a pistachio croissant. The pistachio croissant would basically become a thing of legend as we told everyone we knew about the ‘best pastry in the world.’ When we first visited back in 2022, SAINT-JEAN was just turning the corner and it was before the world really knew about them. Now, the line is always out the door, the choices for pastries are endless, and they’ve opened a second bakery/lunch location across the street. SAINT-JEAN prepares their milk-based drinks exclusively with non-dairy options, and while I was worried about that, the first sip made me a believer. Well-trained baristas and clean coffees from Dak Coffee Roasters made the experience perfect.

I think SAINT-JEAN has done a nice job at balancing fame and maintaining the sort of small, out-of-the-way, ‘local secret’ vibe it had the first time we visited. It was magical to retrace our steps on our second Amsterdam trip. Riding the rusty and clanky dutch bikes we borrowed from some friends through the neighborhood and seeing this shop appear around the corner once again hit me with so much nostalgia. I was thankful to have an opportunity to come back to something so meaningful. It didn’t disappoint, and I don’t think it ever will.

After visiting SAINT-JEAN, it opened my eyes to the reality that there is great specialty coffee all over the world. And, I need to make it a part of my job to discover it. Thankfully, biking everywhere builds appetite and being on an adventure only fuels more adventure. What this means is that we generally try to visit between 2-3 coffee spots a day.

Yet, the first coffee of the day is always the best one, so you have to be careful when you choose to visit a place. As well, the energy of the same place can change throughout the day. Many Europeans have dedicated afternoon coffee breaks at many of these specialty coffee shops so you really need to know what type of experience you’re after when you visit these places.

Because of this, our second trip to Amsterdam didn’t start with SAINT-JEAN as we originally intended because we didn’t arrive to Amsterdam until late morning. So, we decided to go to a spot we didn’t get to experience on the first visit. Back to Black.

Back to Black | @backtoblackcoffee | https://backtoblackcoffee.nl/en/

It was our third plane ride and a long Uber to the hotel. After dropping bags, but not yet armed with bikes, we decided to take a walk to stretch our legs. Back to Black has a few locations in Amsterdam, but I loved the look of this particular spot more than the others. So, we took a chance.

The flat white was prepared really well, while the brightness of the espresso seemed to match the weather rather nicely. The cafe was packed and while the coffee and pastries were a delight, the highlight was definitely the roaster cat. People have been telling me to get a cat for a long time, and I always brushed it off. This is probably the case because my Mom always used to tell a story of her cat trying to smother me after I was born. Feline bastards I thought.

Seeing the cat reminded me of roasting back home. Often, I’ll have a four-legged visitor come by when I’m about half way done with my roasting. She’ll just sit there and stare at me. Onlooker. Maybe when we get the roastery fully designed and open to our neighborhood I’ll consider getting a cat. Or maybe she’ll finally decide to come up and say hi. Only time will tell.

There really is so much character in these spaces. Yea, the coffee is really good and the baristas are friendly and happy to accommodate. But there is something about getting on your bike, navigating the whirlwind of morning bicycle traffic, feeling the sun hit your face and taking a moment to appreciate the architecture and the series of canals that litter the streets of Amsterdam. It’s warm and inviting … a welcome contrast to what we’re used to back home.

Everywhere you look is a photo op. A photographers dream. I hope you have an opportunity to visit Amsterdam for the coffee culture yes, but it’s such a great spot to visit in Europe. It’s small, beautiful, shows immense character and history, and most areas are simply a delight to walk around and enjoy a slower pace of life.

Early wake-ups in Europe are great. People tend to stay out really late so it makes the morning even quieter than they are back home. It means you can get on the bike, enjoy the fresh air along the canal, and pull up to what would end up being my second favorite coffee house in Amsterdam. LOT61.

LOT61 | @lot61nl | https://lot61.com

Usually, I tend to gravitate away from places that are this widespread. They have quite a number of locations. Sometimes, quality can dilute the more you spread your reach. I’m looking at you, Fremont Brewery. But this hasn’t happened with LOT61.

The two-person show behind the counter handled the constant stream of coffee-starved patrons with ease. Down below the cafe, a series of steep stairs revealed an on-site roaster. Always a good sign. Well lit decor everywhere, we scored and snagged a window seat. Perfect for watching the morning bicycle traffic zip in either direction over and across the canal. The coffees were served in these lovely cups eerily reminiscent of a favorite color of mine; British Racing Green.

The chocolate and caramel notes are such people pleasers. Easy to drink and always enjoyable. I loved this spot, and with its corner location on one of the cities’ canals, I think it stands as a must visit on any Amsterdam trip.

Paralysis by choice is a real problem. With ice cream of course, and really it’s no different with coffee houses. I remember reading about Monks Coffee because they have a school on site for people who want to learn and do a deep dive. I thought it was such a cool idea as we don’t see many of those in Seattle.

When you’re on a trip, it’s a good idea to have an itinerary, but it’s also important to have a degree of flexibility. Sometimes, a place is closed on a random Wednesday, or you end up in a different part of the city than where you expected to be. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to get to Monks Coffee, but was grateful we did. And speaking of a Roaster Cat …

Monks Coffee Roasters | @monks_coffee_roasters | https://monkscoffee.nl

Situated in the Oud West area, and coincidentally also near one of my favorite all-time pizza restaurants (Nnea), is a warm and inviting coffee house. It reminds me a lot of Herkimer Coffee in Seattle. Blues and wood grain are the focal points of the design.

Another Roaster Cat made her presence known. Come to find out it wasn’t the owners, but instead, belongs to the ‘Bakery down the street.’ I liked how we were greeted at the door. Almost restaurant style as opposed to walking up to a bar to order your coffee for takeaway. This one felt more like a sit down location, and we happily obliged.

An interesting thing happens on a second visit to a new city. It isn’t as scary or daunting as the first time. You can relax a bit as a sliver of familiarity washes over your plans. It boosts your confidence. You notice things and can view the same person place or thing in a slightly different way. I felt this way about Amsterdam. I didn’t publish anything close to the number of coffee houses we visited, but these select four are a good start. Why spoil the surprise on the others should you choose to visit?

I wrote this entire blog in a single sitting as the sun started dropping over the tree line from my office window. I loved pulling up all the photos and listening to how they made me feel. It’s special to take time away from the mundane every once in a while. I’m grateful that Lauren got me out of my comfort zone when she all but demanded we take a trip to Amsterdam three years ago.

And this time, I got to spend my 40th birthday in a city I love, with people that mean so much to me, while we adventured to every cafe experience we could get our hands on. It’s a great life, and one that I hope you too can find if you decide to be bold enough to go and find it.