Today I made my way over to Screaming Beans for lunch and some coffee. SB has two locations, both near the center, I went to the Huygensstraat location. SB is a combination wine and coffee bar and serves food as well. As you can tell from the picture below the decor is very modern. My preference is for a smaller more cozy setting.



They offered a few different pourover coffees including V60 (single cup), Clever (two cups), and Chemex (3 cups) and offered a few different coffees including a Sumatran, Kenyan, and Panama Geisha. Plus, of course, espresso drinks. I opted for the V60 and Panama Geisha which involved a 3€ up charge. The coffee was poured and steeped right at my table.



The coffee was very floral and tea like and I actually liked it better than the Panama Geisha I recently tried at Portland Coffee Fest served by Klatch. I didn't sample the espresso at SB. The food was good too, so if you are out in Amsterdam and looking for coffee and something to eat or if you have people in your group who may want wine, then SB would be a good choice.

After lunch I made my way over to White Label Coffee. WL is located further out from the center in west Amsterdam on Jan Evertsenstraat in what is more of a residential area. Not a lot of touristy things in this area. But WL may be worth the trip. The street its located on is nothing special, but when you walk in you immediately appreciate that you have walked into a coffee oasis. The decor is light and bright, but also very cozy and inviting. In the front of the shop is a display with their own roasted coffees for sale. I picked up a bag of Ethiopian Kochere to take home with me based on a recommendation from WL's roaster.


The layout is unique in that you climb up to the bar area in the center of cafe. WL uses a 3 group Kees van der Westen Spirit. They have two large Mazzer grinders to always offer their customers a choice of single origin espresso. On the menu today was an Ethiopian and a Brazilian. Scattered throughout the cafe is seating, some involving pillows on the floor.


In the back of the cafe is the roasting area which includes a Dutch Giesen roaster and a small Probat sample roaster. There are lots of burlap bags of coffee piled up. The staff were super friendly and more than happy to talk coffee and offer recommendations.



I had an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe espresso machiatto which was delicious - very fruity and floral.

Thanks for posting your experiences. I'm greatly enjoying reading them.

Appreciate the feedback Ari! Amsterdam is a fantastic city and getting to visit some great cafes just makes it even better. I thought I'd share my experiences with HB members in case any get the chance to make it over here sometime.

Today was my last full day in Amsterdam and my main goal, in between a canal boat tour and the Van Gogh Museum, was a trip back to The Scandinavian Embassy for lunch. A few days ago I managed to make it there for a delicious afternoon machiatto and some carrot cake. But I really wanted to get the full coffee and food experience after reading a very complimentary review in Sprudge.

The SE is located in the Pijp district, a vibrant neighborhood just south of the center and is tucked away on a side street just off the Ceintuurbaan, the main thoroughfare, and just across from Sarphatipark.



The Scandinavian influence is evident as soon as you walk in. The space is small and cozy but the decor is bright with sparse white walls and natural finish wood around the bar area. At the front of the bar is a 2 group La Marzocco espresso machine and a Mazzer Robur used for espresso. The SE uses the Espresso 1 blend (Columbia, Ethiopia, and Kenya) from The Coffee Collective, a highly regarded Danish roaster. An EK43 is used for pourover coffee for which they have a variety of coffees from Coffee Collective, Drop Coffee, and others.



If you get a chance to visit I highly recommend you sit at the bar. From my perch at the bar I had the opportunity to watch Daniel (barista and sommelier) and Rikard (head chef) at work. They were both super friendly and more than happy to talk coffee, food, and offer recommendations. I couldn't help but think that I had the good fortune to be a participant in a culinary laboratory.



At Daniel's recommendation I decided to try what may be their signature dish - the poached eggs and salmon. He suggested I pair it with a unwashed Ethiopian pourover. For a natural coffee it was remarkably clean and, as expected, fruity and aromatic. The acidity of the coffee nicely complimented the richness of the food.




After hanging out for a bit Rikard said "You are in for a treat" and prepared some oysters that were served with a shot of espresso in a frozen cup. Having never had oysters before it was indeed a treat to experience the rich tangy creaminess of the oysters with the sweetness of the espresso. Cooling the espresso also brought out more of the flavors (I'm going to have to try this at home).

They made me feel so welcome that I almost didn't want to leave. It was a great way to finish off my trip. And on my way out I purchased a bag of Coffee Collective Kenyan in the hope of bringing some of my SE experience home with me.

Overall my trip to Amsterdam was a fantastic experience. The coffee scene here is really top notch and I highly recommend that HBers who have the opportunity to visit to check out some of these cafes. I'm sure Amsterdam also has some other great places as well, so if you come across any please share your experiences here.

Fantastic reviews keno!