FNND visited Amsterdam to unearth the best coffee shops… that sell coffee.

The speciality coffee scene appears to be a relatively new thing to Amsterdam, with only a handful of places who do coffee well – all of which are pretty new kids on the block. FNND found this to be quite surprising considering that the Netherlands is one of the largest consumers of coffee per capita in the world, but this is fast changing and new places are rapidly opening up.

The Netherlands has a long tradition of a coffee drink called the café crème or café lungo but now the shorter sweeter shots of espresso and longer brighter cups of brewed coffee is coming too. FNND went to checkout and uncover exactly what is going on in the historical city and found Headfirst roasters…

 

Headfirst roasters – located in Westerstraat 150.

Set up by Jonatan Scheeper and Lex Wenneker who cut their teeth at the Amsterdam based ‘the coffee company’. It’s the second time FNND visited these folks and they are nice guys with a clear passion for good coffee and always happy to chat about espresso. They roast on a Geison, the first time I visited I tried a peaberry El Salvador espresso from their beautiful La Marzocco strada which (if my memory serves me right) was a tangy sweet shot and quite short too.

So, this time we tied the El Salvador Davina through a filter brew. It was a slightly darker roast by current European standards but brewed very well. There was some acidity in the cup but it was dominated by an over bearing molasses and treacle notes but as the coffee cooled, the acidity came through and the flavours opened up. It was a great cup and a very enjoyable drink worth savouring. The other coffee which they had on offer was a Kenya Gatomboya and an Ethiopian Schilcano. The selections are good and the Strada Is used to its full potential, so it’s worth popping into check this place.

Opening hours, Monday to saturday 8am – 6pm & sundays 9am – 6pm

Tel, 0646314112

Espressos are 2Euros

you can keep up to date with Headfirst Roasters HERE