A Coffee Walhalla at Starbucks’ newly opened and first ever laboratory

Mar 10, 2012 | by Kim | Food, Spots

About the author

Meet Kim, a 27 year old epicurean pur sang. She likes cats, loves day dreaming and adores red wine. Her quest in life is to constantly look for Amsterdam's hidden gems and become a walking encyclopedia of Amsterdam's best spots.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Walhalla for all caffeine junkies has landed at the centre of Amsterdam. As of yesterday the doors of the biggest Starbucks shop in Europe are open. Starbucks had big plans for our beloved city, the shop is not only the 6th concept shop they’ve ever opened, but it’s also the first laboratory they have opened worldwide. And trust me, it’s worth the visit.

Let’s talk coffee

Next to the big units of coffee and the delightful sweets you normally get at Starbucks, expect freshly baked cakes and next level coffee made out of five year aged coffee beans. Via Twitter they’ll let you know when fresh croissants pop out of the oven and wait for you to be eaten. On the counter all kinds of cakes, cookies, muffins, pastries and bagels are doing their very best to convince you to taste them. The breakfast bagel looked most appealing to me, so I know where to go to for my next hungover breakfast.

Ethiopia blend tastes like chocolate, Guatemala goes perfectly with goat cheese and Sumatra smells like basil

The counter, with its 17 meters, is the longest Starbucks counter in Europe and has a very special ‘Slow Coffee Theater’. Here you can nip the most exquisite coffees like you would as if they were 25 year old whisky. They also have this very special machine, a first in Europe too, that brews every different coffee blend to it’s ultimate height. I can recommend the aged Sumatra if you need something extra to help you through your daily burden.

The shop is built in an old bank safe, but it has been transformed into an amazing tree-house-like spot. They used a lot of natural and recycled products and made the interior a tribute to the 17th century Dutch trading days. Did you know that it’s because of Dutch merchants that we all drink coffee nowadays? It were the Dutchies who shipped the coffee trees around the world.

Serious coffee tasting

Still not convinced that we have something special brewing in our city? Just pay them a visit at 11.30 AM any particular day. That’s when they have their daily coffee tasting session by their ever friendly baristas. As a wine lover I’ve done a lot of wine tasting, but the coffee tasting at Starbucks is the real deal, I’m telling you! I now know that the Ethiopia blend tastes like chocolate, Guatemala goes perfectly with goat cheese and Sumatra smells like basil. If you’re lucky you can also enjoy some poetry or local live music. Oh, and one last thing; go stand underneath the wooden ceiling while looking up. You’ll be amazed!