Archives for posts with tag: amsterdam
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Bagels & Beans, Amsterdam (Koningsplein)

28.04.2011 //
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I am slowly developing a theory, where all outlets of Bagels & Beans within Amsterdam’s city limits provide a rather different quality in contrast to shops elsewhere. Although it’s been high-ranking in various tests with some branches, I get served a really, really bitter, over-extracted espresso machiatto with too much milk (which, in this case, helped partly mask the terrible flavours) and foam of the kind which resembles the surface of the moon. Luckily, the lack of wifi, as opposed to free wifi in other stores, toilets for which you have to pay, as opposed to other stores offering free toilets and unfriendly staff are all in line with the ‘quality’ of coffee. Just stick with the books of Selexyz.

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De Koffiesalon, Amsterdam

04.03.2011 //
2

It’s been nearly six months since my last visit and review of this place. Back then I was very positive, but this time things are different. The cappuccino lacks spice and the foam contains several large bubbles. The coffee even has a bad aftertaste, as if the machine has not been properly cleaned. Another bad thing is the fact they’ve cancelled their offering of wifi as of March 2010, while at the same time prices have risen compared to six months ago. Canceling wifi is an understandable choice if your store’s being used as an office away from the office, but it also deprives me of the possibility to work on assignments while drinking my coffee. Computers have been banned from the store but for one table. Choosing either to ban computers from all but one table, or canceling wifi would’ve been enough. The store’s supposedly a great enough success to be able to get away with less service for higher prices.

Note: although wifi still isn’t available, I didn’t have any further bad experiences with the coffee tasting off.

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Bijenkorf (Illy bar), Amsterdam

02.03.2011 //
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Compared to all those department stores trying to earn some extra money selling sandwiches and coffee from a super-automatic machine, this is truly a appeasing experience. A few steps away from the above -which is also found in the same store and on the same floor, so do ensure yourself you’re at the Illy bar- Illy coffee is being prepared with care and patience. The espresso is rather good and the latte art acceptable. Still, there’s something missing. Be it a personal touch, cosiness or perhaps simply the coffee, milk, barista and machine which all aren’t of top-quality. If the weather’s nice, the roof terrace offers nice views, though.

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De Korte Prins, Amsterdam

01.03.2011 //
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As we walked through this street lined with small and nice boutiques, we decided to give this small lunchroom, serving Illy, a try. Although prices are low, quality stays far, far behind on the price. The foam resembled a scenery that, if photographed with a proper camera, could resemble the mountain peaks of the Alps, where the slopes were covered in snow, but the peaks still ‘muddy’ with cacao, as can be seen on the photo below. The milk tasted ultra-flat and even watery, whereas the usually quite forgiving Illy coffee lacked strength, yet was awfully bitter. I, for one, will not ever, ever go to this bar again.

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Screaming Beans, Amsterdam

04.02.2011 //
1

Screaming Beans is yet another coffee house which is, rightly so, jumping onto the slow coffee trend. Chemex, Smart drip, French press or just poured on, the choice is yours at this bar right in the Nine Streets district of Amsterdam. I sticked with espresso and cappuccino, however, the latter of which was nearly perfect. The espresso, on the other hand, was a tiny bit sour, although some deliciously softening oils were present as they should be in an espresso.

The layout of the store was far from convenient, though. With only 16 seats, eight of those were set up as two sets of four, where, although these four were sets of two seats facing each other, with a separate table per two seats, the tables were too close to each other, judging from other visitor’s behavior. People were wary of sitting down at the table next to me, leaving me to essentially take four seats by myself, although I only were using one. But who knows, if you’re not afraid of other people, it helps get in contact with strangers! One personal annoyance: two mums with their screaming and crying kids were also enjoying a coffee…

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De Koffiesalon, Amsterdam

23.01.2011 //
2

Following good experiences at their branch on Utrechtsestraat, I decided for a visit to the outlet near Vondelpark. The interior design isn’t as cozy as on Utrechtsestraat, but the most important thing, their cappuccino, is (nearly) as good. Whereas the same Buscaglione bean is used, the foamed milk is somewhat too solid, thereby not allowing proper mixing of espresso and milk. Perhaps the barista just didn’t have his day. But, the cup seems to be rather small though, smaller than most cappuccino cups.

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Homemade, Amsterdam

22.01.2011 //
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Not too long ago, I saw some people carrying a brand-new espresso machine into this building. Ten weeks after the opening, the place gets quite crowded around lunchtime. It seems to me, though, they don’t have the coffee to thank their success for, but, rather, their deliciously looking sandwiches, which are freshly made upon ordering. My cappuccino has an aftertaste which is off, in a not-so-good way. With the foamed milk full of bubbles and cacao sprinkled over the milk, there certainly is enough room for the baristas to improve their games. The Puro coffee, which I hadn’t seen before, could use some spicing up, too. If these guys improve their barista skills, however, Homemade can become quite a nice place to have a coffee, with the interior reflecting their back-to-nature choice of food and beverages, a welcome change from the ‘away-from-nature’ mostly seen in the city.

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Bagels & Beans, Amsterdam (Kinkerstraat)

21.01.2011 //
2

This store no longer exists as ‘Bagels & Beans’. The owner of this particular branch failed to comply with the chain’s hygienic standards and got kicked out. Thanks to Rav for pointing this out in the comments.

Compared to their store just a stone’s throw away at Raadhuisstraat, this is a delight. Strong espresso flavors, but sadly hidden under a miles-high layer of milk foam, which, to make matters worse, is topped with a thick layer of cacao powder, right under where your nose is while drinking, making the scent unescapable. The advantage of the mountain of milk foam, however, is that you can scoop it right off along with the cacao, leaving a fine cappuccino. The ‘self-improved’ cappuccino is where the 2-cup rating is based on.

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Bagels & Beans, Amsterdam (Raadhuisstraat)

17.01.2011 //
1

Bagels & Beans usually has high standards for their espresso beverages, resulting in high rankings and even a winning position in the yearly national Algemeen Dagblad coffee tests. This branch certainly does not live up to these expectations. The foam was full of bubbles and cold, and the espresso watery, thereby disappearing in the milk with a non-pleasant after-taste. To mark something positive: although they did ‘decorate’ the cappuccino with cacao sprinkled over it, the amount of cacao was very limited.

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