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Boulevard, Maastricht

06.03.2011 //
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This bar, seemingly belonging to the adjacent hotel, with Segrafredo-beans had a good rating somewhere in the back of my mind, but this time the milk was steamed too hot and thus tasted flat. Judging from the responses from the staff present, they both weren’t properly trained to operate the espresso machine, which also might be an explanation for my better experience last time, as a more experienced person might have been operating the machine back then. This time, even a super-automatic espresso machine would have been better.

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Cubico Caffé, Maastricht

05.03.2011 //
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Right next to the city’s train station is this modern and cleanly decorated store, which even is child-friendly and thus is full of hip parents with their screaming children. Good for them, but I prefer my coffee without children.

The coffee itself is okay, but their large cappuccino seems to be a cappuccino with the same single shot as their single, with simply some milk added to that. It’s a very flat cappuccino, lacking any spice. Perhaps I should try a regular, small cappuccino some day on a week-day, when the children are on school.

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De Koffiesalon, Amsterdam

04.03.2011 //
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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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Tastoe, Utrecht

03.03.2011 //
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This is a different kind of store. Not your average hip coffee house, nor your average lunchroom. Not hip, trendy, modern or daring but ordinary. Just ordinarily at your mother’s or ordinarily gezellig. The waitress looks as if she came straight from the 80s and the guests are playing board games as Scrabble and Ludo.

The cappuccino’ nice, but the milk’s been frothed too quickly resulting in large bubbles and is still slightly too cold. The Smit en Deloras bean used is okay, but lacks some spice. I’m usually not a fan of their beans, but an ordinary Smit-cappuccino is betters dan mother’s own Douwe Egberts cup. Tastoe is just ordinary, but with a special touch.

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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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Woyton, Düsseldorf

28.02.2011 //
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Woyton is yet another Starbucks-like chains, trying to get their part of Starbucks’ success. Although I think that’s an essentially good thing, bringing in comfortable chairs, choice between coffee or a coffee-flavored beverage and whatnot. However, when they’re also copying the Starbucks-way of not properly training staff and even staying way ahead of Starbucks on that matter, that’s where things go ugly.

The milk foam of my cappuccino has to get scooped onto my espresso, rather than poured in, after the cup was already nearly full with overheated milk. Subsequently, it’s poured over with lots of cacao. The espresso itself is made from a blend that pleases everyone and can be used for any espresso-based drink. In other words: it’s flat, too mild to be used in a cappuccino and certainly not a unique taste of coffee in any way. On a more positive note is their extensive salad bar, but be sure not to order an espresso with that.

Note: I’ve visited this place again when I was in Düsseldorf on a rainy day, and needed some free wifi to check something online, but things only seem to have gotten worse. Do avoid this one!

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Doppio Espresso, Alkmaar

27.02.2011 //
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With the opening of Doppio Espresso and Coffee United in late 2009, the number of good coffee houses just about doubled in Alkmaar. The interior design of this place is stunning, departing from the traditional ‘chairs around tables’ and instead focusing on benches with a few tables along it, as well as seats facing outwards on the first floor, allowing you to view the world pass by on the street below you, as you drink your coffee.

The cappuccino contains either too much milk, or the bean used just is more suitable for espressos than for cappuccinos. Besides it’s served in the well-known double-walled Bodum glasses, which I personally don’t like due to the thickness of the edge. Other than that, the foam is of good quality, so people like me should just stick with an espresso machiatto in order to still taste the coffee, and all will be fine at this place.

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Coffee United, Alkmaar

26.02.2011 //
1

Already being familiar with this chain from their branches in Amersfoort and Groningen, I was eager to try this newly opened one. The store looks nice and tidy, although as a minor detail, the free-standing, cheap and plastic trash bin in an newly designed store, in which otherwise everything seems to have been thought of, is a bit of a shame. But then again: who cares?

The cappuccino already looks nice as it’s being served, but is somewhat bitter upon tasting. I personally don’t usually mind bitterness, as I like my coffee somewhat bitter. However, even for me it could’ve been less bitter. Not knowing this bitterness from their other branches, I can only suppose the water was too hot, and the coffee burnt. It’s still one of the best coffees in town, though.

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