Expresso Love: Your Online Guide to Coffee

A visit to Amsterdam can be a bit misleading if you’re hoping to find a good cup of java!

On the surface you may feel like you tapped into a winning espresso-lottery ticket — all those coffee houses! But the untrained eye needs to understand that coffee houses in Amsterdam offer a lot more than just coffee! If you’re looking to smoke a joint and relax, then take your pick — virtually any coffee house in Amsterdam will suit your needs. If you want an expresso or cappuccino or a blend that’s more substantial than instant Nescafe’ in a cup of hot water, don’t worry because all is not lost.

Here’s a few of the more well-known locales:

BrandMasters (Villa Arena, Arena Bouleverd 160, 1101 DJ Amsterdam) has a chain of 4 coffee-shops in the city and each one offers a variety of blends as well as space in which to enjoy them. And not a joint in site.

Antonio’s Espresso (Diezerpoortenplas 40, 8011 VX Zwolle, tel: 31384224900) is a small store importing Italian coffee beans. You can sample different blends and buy equipment for personal or professional use. Antonio’s has a trained barista working for him – so you know you’re in good hands!

De Melangerie is a coffee and tea house in the centre of Hoorn (Gedempte Turfhaven 66). Offering an assortment of 31 roasted blends (many of which they’ll roast on the spot) and 20 green coffee bean variants and 160 different teas and you can just about make a day of it here. Drink, sit, sample, buy and enjoy. It doesn’t get much better than this!

Simon Levelt – Since opening their first shop in 1817, they’ve expanded to a chain of 25 shops throughout the Netherlands. With their own Roastery and are one of the biggest independent coffee suppliers. Besides ground coffee and coffee beans they sell espresso machines and teas through the internet. There are certainly other shops in and around Amsterdam that offer refuge for the true coffee lover! Just keep your eyes open and sniff around for the familiar aroma of roasted coffee beans.

Spain: Coffee Bars and Places: May 1, 2006

When it comes to coffee, some say that Spain has a lot in common with Italy (or perhaps it’s the other way around). Traditional café life can still be found in Spain where a café is rarely simply somewhere to grab a cup of coffee and a pastry. Coffee is so much a way of life that singling out a specific coffee house is difficult at best. The sidewalk café is permanent part of the Spanish culture.

A regular coffee in Spain is an expresso which is served black (café solo) while a coffee made with all milk is a café con leche, usually enjoyed for breakfast. Coffee with a dash of milk is a café cortado. If you want a large black coffee ask for a doble or a grande. Coffee with a splash of milk is a manchada.

So much coffee so little time. Where to begin? How about in your favorite city. Barcelona boasts several coffee haunts and they aren’t all geared for tourists.

Cafè de l’Opera (74 La Rambla, tel: 34 93 317 7585)

Cafe Zurich (Plaça Catalunya, 1, tel: 93 317 91 53) - The Cafe Zurich was one of the most famous coffee houses in Barcelona. Long since refurbished from its original splendor, it’s got great blends and a terrific on which to enjoy your coffee.

Cafe Royale (C/Nou de Zambrano, 3, tel: 93 317 61 24)-  Perhaps more of a bar and less of a coffee culture mainstay; the Royale is nicely decorated with a nice selection of brews. Good music too, and known to be one of Almodovar’s favorite places to sip an espresso in Barcelona.

What’s that? You’re looking to do more than read a paper and slam an expresso? Check out these great locales to buy a bag of beans:

El Magnifico (tel 93 319 60 81; Carrer de l’Argenteria 64). These guys have been roasting all sorts of coffee for most of this century.

Casa Gispert (tel 93 319 75 35; Carrer dels Sombrerers 23), where they’ve been toasting almonds and selling all manner of dried fruit since 1851.

CafeCrem (Poligono Industrial el Pla, calle Can Gurru No. 1, tel: In Spain: 972 168 0200), Barcelona’s famous coffee plantation. Green beans to the max. Visit, drink, roast, purchase. They ship all over the world.

In Spain you’ll find a million stories of coffee and the folks who drink it. But the best way to discover the coffee culture is one city (and cup) at a time.