Lekker Coffee

the picture says it all..

2009-09-13T20:27:00.003+02:00

We thought we'd try somewhere new for coffee in Den Haag at Savannah. In a phrase: that's a whole lotta foam.

good coffee.

2009-09-13T17:18:00.006+02:00

It just gets a little depressing always talking about how bad coffee has seemed to be, and again, apologies for the lack of posts. So in order to not be so depressing, this post will be about coffees that we have had that have actually been good. In fact, some of them remarkably good.

This coffee was had in Antwerp at Caffenation. A decent coffee after a run of bad ones in the netherlands.

In a phrase, refreshingly good coffee.

Hurrah! The photos speak for themselves. Flat White, London.

In a phrase: please, please, please come over to Den Haag!

Some great coffees were had at a little coffee stall at Whitecross Mkts in London. This photo is after a bit of a walk and a few sips on that walk, but oh my, it was wonderful to taste great coffee again. In fact, it the taste of it was almost surprising. Where was the bitter, burnt taste we have become used to? Not in these cups of goodness!

In a phrase: please, please, please also come to Den Haag!

oh where have all the coffees gone?

2009-08-22T13:31:00.002+02:00

Apologies for not writing for a very long time! Life has been busy and the number of un-visited cafes around den haag have dwindled in number. So we have had to further our search for great coffee!! Our latest travels further afield have included Antwerp and London so stay tuned for some coffee love from those places.

Nice Shot!

2009-07-11T20:38:00.005+02:00

So that's what a good shot is supposed to look like while it's getting poured...

you want me to drink that?

2009-06-25T15:42:00.004+02:00

So we were walking through Delft the other day, past a few cafes and bars and stumbled upon this uninviting picture of a coffee...again, lots of foam and made us keep walking (though interestingly, it is also a cappuccino with chocolate on top).

Urban Espresso Bar, Botersloot 44a 3011HH Rotterdam

2009-06-25T15:17:00.006+02:00

A little trip to Rotterdam to see the Red Bull Cliff Diving Championships called for some research into a cafe that could give us a good coffee further afield from Den Haag.
Urban Espresso Bar is a small cafe was bustling when we arrived, looking like it is a favourite among locals. It serves simple food, coffee and cakes to its customers both inside and at tables outside. Upon reading the menu, we were surprised to see a "flat white" as their speciality coffee- a coffee we haven't seen since leaving the shores of Australia. And what's more, it came out looking like a quality cup (no latte art though) and even tasted like a quality, well made cup of coffee. There was no ciggarette-like lingering tastes after consumption either. Rather for the next hour or so, the refrain of "that was a good coffee" was heard repeatedly.
To quote the fellow reveiwer,

"you know it's a good coffee when you keep tasting it in your mouth and you want to go back for another one."

So could we have found the ultimate coffee so far in the Netherlands? It was a flat white, it was a lovely taste that lingered making you beg for more, and did I hear an Australian working there? (not that that will cloud our judgement!) The website also has photos of -shock- a cappuccino with chocolate powder on top (this is also what a cappuccino coffee is like in Australia).

In a phrase: Possibly the best we have had so far and definitely worth visiting.

Espreszo Bar

2009-06-16T18:48:00.003+02:00

With a name like Espreszo Bar we had to have a coffee. But the coffee was yet another average cup. By no means the worst cup we've had, but a few bad tastes and nothing fantastic. However it looks like it cares about how it produces coffee.

In a phrase: not enough to entice us back on the first cup.

Hotel Des Indes - Lange Voorhout 56 2514 Den Haag, Den Haag (Zuid-Holland)

2009-06-16T18:22:00.004+02:00

Des Indes is a "luxury" hotel on Lange Voorhout, Den Haag. Again we had heard good things about the coffee so we were looking forward to it. We sat in the bistro/cafe area of the dining area. A nice, big, classy room with marble columns.

We ordered 3 coffee's and saw later that this cup was by far and away our most expensive: 4.10euro. Wow. The coffee: disappointingly bitter taste, accentuated by the high price tag! On top was some kind of froth which resembled a meringue.

This trip was a little more disappointing as we had read that this was the place to go for a guarenteed good cup of coffee. In our experience, it is not. We would like to know if this is what Dutch people look for in a good coffee? Please comment and let us know what you think.

Dendy - Hooistraat 1 2514 Den Haag, Den Haag (Zuid-Holland)

2009-06-16T17:52:00.005+02:00

Dendy -
Hooistraat 1 2514 Den Haag, Den Haag (Zuid-Holland)

We headed for this place after reading a positive review on a website. It is a classy looking place on a street corner. Outside tables line the footpath, inside has more of a semi-formal dinner feel. We sat inside and ordered some cappucinos, we hoped they would be at least semi-good as, at 2.65euro, were the most expensive coffee's we've tried.

There was good news straight away. We kept an eye on how the shot poured. There was no rush of a waterfall, but a nice, slow pour from the portafilter. Initial signs were good. On arrival the coffee looked good. The milk was smooth and there was no mountain of froth. On tasting it was very nice. No cigarette-taste, no bitter after taste that made us whince, just the nice, strong taste of a good cup. This was easily the best coffee we'd had since arriving. Great!!

In a phrase: the best coffee yet.

N.B. We made a second trip, the coffee was still better than anywhere else, but was a little bitter this time.

De Waag, Delft

2009-06-03T19:33:00.002+02:00

We didn't try a coffee here, but we were thinking of it until...

Our table was situated with a good view of the coffee machine. At first there were good signs, the milk was done with some care and looked glossy from where we sat. But after seeing a shot prepared and poured we decided on hot chocolates and a beer. The reasons: the dose into the portafilter was far to small, the tamp was very soft and showed the small amount of coffee in the portafilter, and then the shot came out like a waterfall in flood. Needless to say the shot was over quickly. Hence the choice in drinks.

In a phrase: not even worth trying the coffee.

Greenfield, Amsterdam

2009-06-03T19:28:00.002+02:00

If you're after a nice coffee and you walk past this place, keep walking.

Funny story here though. A customer asked the waitress for a soy decaf latte, her response was "No. This isn't Starbucks". Hahaha.

Coffee Connection Espresso Bar, Amsterdam

2009-06-03T19:24:00.002+02:00

Nice! A very small room houses a nice little espresso bar on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal. Some seating inside with nibblies, including croissants, and tables outside on the footpath. Why the detail? Because this is a place worth trying. The cups are paper but the coffee is nice. The coffee looked nice with a small rosetta on top and the coffee was smooth and tasty.

In a phrase: the guy even looked like he cared about coffee, definately a return trip to come.

Toque Toque, Utrecht

2009-06-03T19:02:00.002+02:00

A new city for us, a new place to sample some coffee. Unfortunately it was similar to other under-par coffee's we have tried in the last 2 months. Again, the milk was frothed like too much powder in a washing machine. Stop it! The taste was not enjoyable. Too many bad tastes lying around.

In a phrase: try somewhere else.

another machine find!

2009-05-29T20:59:00.003+02:00

another commercial machine we happened to find in a second-hand shop...it was gone the next day.

oh more coffee machines...

2009-05-27T18:02:00.003+02:00

so we went for a little trip to utrecht the other day and managed to find a few little coffee making machines.

this was a cute old school electric coffee perculator! love the ceramic top on it.

in a simon levelt store, we found this atom-looking stove top perculator (not sure if it was or not)...oh it looked lovely.

you want me to drink that? negative advertising

2009-05-21T14:47:00.002+02:00

we haven't posted in a while because basically, we haven't been out for coffee and have been drinking away with out little stovetop perculator (just a little experiment at the moment- better to have cheap ok tasting coffee than to spend big bucks on bad coffee).

we thought we'd start up a bit of a regular post as they come along of pictures we find of advertised coffees that look...well, really not that apetising.

today's pic features: 80's foam! i guess some people might like 80's dishwasher foam but if a coffee came out looking like this, i wouldnt be too excited.

a theory we have developed over the years is that if a barista/cafe cares about their coffee enough to have good milk and going further, latte art, you have high chances of getting a decent coffee. don't care about milk, don't care about the coffee. not always the case, but mostly. thoughts?

Square, near Lange Poten, Den Haag

2009-05-13T17:51:00.003+02:00

The Square is set in a big, sunny (if you're lucky) courtyard near the Binnenhof. It is a bar with a small lunch menu. The coffee we ordered was not so lekker. Very frothy and bubbly milk that we had to dig through to find the coffee. Luckily it was there, underneath all that bubble. On tasting, it was not the treasure at the bottom we'd hoped for. Quite bitter and burnt. Shame.

In a phrase: probably try the rest of the cafe's around the courtyard before going back.

Baklust, Veenkade, Den Haag

2009-05-13T17:40:00.005+02:00

The Baklust is a nice looking cafe near a canal. Organic with a tasty looking menu. No seats by the canal unfortunately, only a road. But inside is nice and the service is friendly. Decked out with enough space and reading material to have a relaxed cafe session. The coffee is nothing to return for however. Bubbly milk and not a great shot.

In a phrase: nice cafe, but the coffee is not an attraction.

espresso machine finds...

2009-05-08T16:28:00.005+02:00

we have had two days of coffee machine finds! the first one was in a 2nd hand store in Den Haag...and we decided that it probably wasnt a "true" espresso machine after giving it a look over. so we left it there.

the second one, we were walking down the road and caught a glimpse of it in a skip. we asked the owner what the deal was with it and he said that it didnt work- and to fix it, it would cost at least 500 euros. so we left that one there too.

a tea cup

2009-05-07T17:15:00.004+02:00

I guess this would be more for the tea drinkers, but found this great cup on designmilk and thought it was quite sweet and would keep your cuppa hot. In Vietnam a few months ago, we were given our cups of coffee with the cups sitting in a bowl of hot water- to keep it hot. Not that keeping things hot in Vietnam was ever a problem...

The Lunch Box, Brabanste Turftmarkt, Delft

2009-05-07T16:22:00.004+02:00

In beautiful Delft, this place had a sign advertising itself as the "lekkerste" coffee in Delft. Although this kind of advertisement does not necessarily equate with good coffee, we thought we'd give it a go.

On ordering at the bar, first impressions were good. The shots looked nice and the milk smooth. The coffee's we received were good. The milk, although not shiny, was smooth; and the shot was ok, though slightly overdone.

First impressions of this place point towards decent coffee, as we noted in the preparations. So another visit will probably occur soon.

In a phrase: hopefully a good find.

De Boterwaag, Grote Markt, Den Haag

2009-05-04T15:45:00.002+02:00

Headed for the Grote Markt again, hoping for a nice cup at De Zwarte Ruiter. Unfortunately it was closed on Monday morning. So we tried the place opposite: De Boterwaag. Seating was either outside in the shared sunny courtyard or inside. Inside is a big open old factory type thing with high ceilings. Looked cool.

The coffee, thankfully after setting our minds on a good cup, was very nice. The coffee was strong and nice, but maybe a little over-extracted. The milk was silky smooth as well. Its amazing what good milk can do.

In a phrase: well worth a return.

De Klap, Koningin Emmakade 118A, Den Haag

2009-05-03T10:15:00.001+02:00

De Klap is a Cafe/Restaurant situated outside the main city centre. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, it has both inside and outside dining areas. The coffee was nice and strong and the milk ok. Nothing extremely special about the experience but it was decent enough to plan a return.

In a phrase: nice setting, average coffee but better than most.

De Zwarte Ruiter, Grote Markt, Den Haag

2009-05-03T09:54:00.001+02:00

A place that does its milk right. De Zwarte Ruiter is set in a nice sunny (if the weathers good) courtyard in the centre of The Hague. The coffee was ok, not fantastic, but nice. The milk was smooth, silky and shiny. Yay! Not much froth on the Cappucino but from the first cup at this place it'll be worth returning.

In a phrase: silky milk, a decent cup and worth returning.

A man to be admired...

2009-05-01T20:40:00.001+02:00

If you have the time check out this footage of Gwilym Davies, the World Barista Champion 2009. This video is from his set at the UK Barista Championships. Be warned, it goes for 20 minutes.

Click here to watch.

Latte Art Vids

2009-05-01T20:36:00.001+02:00

We were watching some vids on latte art. Ahhh shiny milk and a beautiful looking coffee.

Dudok, Hofwg 1 's-Gravenhage

2009-05-01T19:22:00.001+02:00

Dudok is a classy looking establishment in the centre of the city. Regularly attended by the politicians and so forth that frequent Den Haag. With this in mind we were expecting near our best cup. Unfortunately it looked very average. The coffee itself tasted ok, but not fantastic. The milk, on the other hand was once again frothed up like dishwashing water. Not a great coffee experience.

In a phrase: expected more.

La Mano Maestra - Noordeinde, Den Haag

2009-04-23T18:30:00.001+02:00

On a nice street with a lot of different types of shops, this is a classy-looking establishment advertising the best broodjes in Den Haag. Le Mano also sells bags of coffee which you can buy ground or not ground. Quite the grinder too!

The coffee came with a glass of water and some chocolate-coated coffee beans. Yum!! The coffee - in a word "ok", but the milk was just not there.. Again, nothing special but nice enough to tempt you to go back for a second try.

In a phrase: seconds?... it might be worth a try.

Mockamore - Rotterdam

2009-04-23T18:26:00.001+02:00

For one of the more expensive cups of coffee, we had hoped for something worth drinking. Mockamore, if you’re not already familiar, is another coffee chain. Looks good, funky interior, but… below standard coffee.

Again the alarm bells started ringing even before we got our coffees. An amazingly large jug of milk, already frothed from a previous occasion, was reworked for ours. Shame.

On drinking the coffees, they were disappointing. Drinkable, though not enjoyable. The milk was terrible as expected. The only really decent thing about the coffee were the pieces of chocolate that came with it.

In a phrase: disappointingly under par.

Caffe Belmondo - Korte Poten 46, Den Haag

2009-04-21T21:38:00.001+02:00

A cool looking place with plenty of potential. Sadly, the only good thing about it were the seats in the sun. Always a bad sign when the guy making coffee leaves the milk to boil while he finds something else to do! Aaarrggh!

We ordered 2 Cappucino's. We got a pile of dishwasher-like froth piled on top of 30 mls of very, very disappointingly not nice tasting, dirty colured water. That's only one visit and this is a harsh review, but to be honest it would be hard to even think of parting with 2.20 again at that place.

In a phrase: definately a coffee to forget.

Kaldi - Haagsche Bluf 70, Den Haag

2009-04-20T14:38:00.001+02:00

Kaldi is filled with everything coffee. Whatever you need for making the goodness at home is here: espresso machines, tamps, grinders, accessories, coffee and more. There's a couple of bar tables inside amongst it all or a courtyard full of tables outside. A nice vibe.

As for the coffee, it was once again average. Drinkable, the milk was good but still a little bubbly, but the place was nice enough to probably go back if we were near there again. Even if it was just to sit amongst all the coffee accessories.

In a phrase: cool vibe.

Dishy - Noordeinde 21, The Hague

2009-04-16T21:03:00.002+02:00

In a phrase: can be good.

Dishy is located in a paved alley lined with retail shops in the centre of The Hague. A smaller shop, looking more like an espresso bar than a cafe, it has both an inside seating area of bars and table seating outside in front of the shop in the alley. It's a nice place to watch the crowds go by. The coffee is made super fast, you'll have only counted your change out before your coffee has been served up.

The coffee: probably the best coffee we've had in The Hague, however the quality hasn't been consistent on our re-visits, some have tasted a little below average. The milk is smoothish (not silky but not bubbly).

Crunch - Piet Heinstraat, Den Haag

2009-04-16T20:12:00.001+02:00

In a phrase: reliably ok.

We have been to Crunch a few times now, each time has produced a decent cup of coffee. The feel of the cafe is nice and relaxed and the service friendly. There are plenty of people reading magazines, newspapers, and their laptops. Inside and outside seating as well. We ordered 2 cappucino's. On arrival the presentation is a nice surprise. The coffee comes on an oval shaped wooden tray with a small glass of water and a piece of slice. A nice surprise when you're only expecting coffee.

Back to the coffee... the coffee was better than most, not great enough to drag people to the cafe just to try it but good enough to go back to when you just want a decent cup of coffee and a chilled out atmosphere. In short: the shot was average and the milk a little too bubbly, but decent.

From the producers...

2009-04-16T19:49:00.000+02:00

Welcome to lekker-coffee!!

We are coffee lovers from Australia who have recently moved to The Hague, Netherlands. Through this blog we want to share and hear from other coffee geeks from around the continent, especially The Netherlands, and especially (for our enjoyment) The Hague, about the best coffee's you've had.

We called the blog lekker as "lekker" (our dictionary says) is a Dutch word meaning "good; nice, enjoyable, delicious, tasty" (well hopefully that's a good translation - sorry Dutch folk if its not), and we like LEKKER coffee!!