Apart from its awe-inspiring museums and stunning architecture, Rotterdam, Netherlands, boasts a noteworthy coffee scene.
BY TANYA NANETTI
SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT
Featured photo by Tanya Nanetti
Rotterdam, a bustling port located in the southern Netherlands, is marked by its stunning architecture, incredible museums (including a must-see maritime museum), and vibrant culinary scene. But in addition to its abundance of craft breweries and natural wine bars, Rotterdam also happens to have one of the richest specialty-coffee scenes in the country, with many award-winning roasteries and a growing number of exciting cafés throughout the city. If you’re visiting for a long weekend, be sure to check out these four cool cafés.
Ripsnorter Café
Ripsnorter Café is somewhat of Rotterdam’s “new kid on the block,” recently opened by acclaimed micro-roastery Ripsnorter Coffee. The coffeehouse is home to 2024 Dutch Barista Champion Zjevaun Janga, and the team at Ripsnorter shares that their main goal is to brew delicious coffee in a way that is inclusive to coffee nerds and newcomers alike.
If you’re already a coffee aficionado, quickly peruse the shop’s “classic” menu, then pause to discover the “Bloody Ripper Collection” printed on the back. Within this collection are some exclusive frozen micro-lots (offered as both filtered coffee and espresso), as well as a short list of fantastic espresso plus milk combos.
As I sipped the café’s delicious El Diviso Ombligon coffee on a cold December morning, I had a chance to chat briefly with Zjevaun, who expressed satisfaction and excitement with the café’s first two months of existence.
“We always dreamed of opening a Ripsnorter Café focused solely on making delicious coffee, and we couldn’t be happier with the result,” Zjevaun says. “Many customers who visit us are already coffee lovers and often choose directly from our special menu, but we also have many casual coffee drinkers, and it’s so nice to see that they keep coming back to try something new. Definitely a dream come true.“
It’s a dream come true not only for Zjevaun and his team, but also for all coffee lovers who decide to travel to Rotterdam.
Sound Kitchen
A little off the beaten path, not far from the Kunsthal Rotterdam Art Museum, is Sound Kitchen: a stylish headphone store with an attached espresso bar. The long walk (or short subway ride) from Ripsnorter to Sound Kitchen will be rewarded by a large assortment of beans from well-known local roastery Manhattan Coffee Roasters.
Head to Sound Kitchen when you’re not in a hurry, choose from one of their perfectly extracted pourovers, and travel to the back of the store, where you can sip your coffee while trying out the fantastic sound systems available for sale: a rather unique opportunity to combine specialty coffee with high-definition sound.
Mecca Oasis
Located in the heart of Rotterdam, Mecca Oasis draws inspiration from the ancient story of Mecca. In this story, a magical oasis called Mecca is hidden deep within the desert, along an ancient caravan trade route connecting the Mediterranean world with the southern Arabian Peninsula, East Africa, and South Asia. This oasis was said to be a place of rest and reconnection, and it was believed that anyone who found it would be able to leave their problems behind and find inner peace.
Like that legendary oasis in the middle of the desert, Mecca Oasis welcomes diners with a warm and welcoming space, perfect for resting after a busy day or escaping Rotterdam’s harsh weather. The shop offers delicious Middle Eastern-inspired vegetarian dishes and coffee from local roastery Schot. It’s the perfect place for a late breakfast or a relaxed brunch.
Schot Coffee Roasters
If you enjoy the coffee served at Mecca, just hop onto streetcar number 8 for a chance to learn more about it at the Schot Coffee roastery, located in the beautiful Diepeveen building. In 2022, the Diepeveen, a cubist-expressionist landmark built in Rotterdam almost a century ago, was re-developed to become a residential area and workspace for artists and designers. Maintaining its original raw, industrial look, the building now also houses a bookstore, gallery, wood workshop, and the Schot roastery.
At Schot Coffee, two types of espresso are served daily, as well as batch-brewed and hand-brewed coffee, with offerings ranging from classic coffees to more exclusive competition coffees. It’s another must-visit spot for all coffee lovers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tanya Nanetti (she/her) is a specialty-coffee barista, a traveler, and a dreamer. When she’s not behind the coffee machine (or visiting some hidden corner of the world), she’s busy writing for Coffee Insurrection, a website about specialty coffee that she’s creating along with her boyfriend.
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