Too Much Coffee

When I travel, I like to buy some beans if I get the chance.

Earlier this month, I was in Amsterdam. I'm very much taken with the Coffee Company chain -- on the recommendation of our Dutch contingent. Coffee Company, to my mind, is Starbucks done right. OK, it might not be as comfortable as Starbucks, but the coffee really is good -- and even on the Damrak, the barista seemed to know what she was doing -- good tamping action, great microfoam, etc.

The Dutch make a great play of taking their coffee seriously and on Warmoestraat, in the red light district, there are at least two shops that sell 'fresh' coffee -- with huge silos of beans and one even selling greens.

So on my last trip, preferring the Northern Italian style of espresso roast I picked up a pound of 'licht' espresso from Geils & Co. -- a coffee seller that has been there since the year dot. You get the impression that Mr Geils was the guy who smuggled coffee out of Mocha and into Java, the place is so old.

Imagine my disappointment when I got the stuff home, only to find it was the worst coffee I'd ever tasted. Shots ran white after about ten seconds, and no attention to grind or tamping seemed to have any impact. It may also have been full of robusta as well -- though this may just have been bitterness caused by lousy extraction.

So I'm wondering whether there are any good suppliers of roasted beans in Amsterdam? I did hear good things about a roaster called 'The Golden Coffee Box'. Were these justified? Who else sells a well roasted bean?

And was my experience at Geils typical, or was it just that blend?

Sorry, I can't answer your questions Flimbag it's been a few years since I was last in Amsterdam, but on a similarly Dutch themed note, does anyone have experience of Ivo's coffee ? He's a fairly opinionated contributer to alt.coffee but I haven't heard from anyone who's tried his green or roasted coffee.

chris.

I bought some cups from him but they were rather expensive, I thought. I believe his beans are generally good (haven't tried them, I'm just repeating the word-of-mouth) but also: not cheap.

I bought my Alp from Ivo and have bought green beans from him a few times, always good service and good beans, never had a problem. I often find it's cheaper and easier to buy from suppliers in the euro zone, no currency worries and I have to pay for shipping whereever I buy from.