Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/612330
STiR tea & coffee industry international 55 Elmer Oomkens, co-founder of White La- bel, said that like most regions, you cannot lump Amsterdam residents into one coffee category. "You have a lot of different groups of people, a lot of people are still looking for the dark roasted coffee, which to them still equals good quality," said Oomkens. "While there are others who are open to having a new experience with their coffee," he said. That first experience can be surprising, accord- ing to Oomkens which is why White Label tries to share the story behind the coffee. "If someone drinks for the first time the lighter roasted coffee, which has more acidity and is fruity and you don't tell them the story about why it tastes this way, then the experience won't land the coffee," says Oomkens. Opening two years ago, White Label offers di- verse coffees and the option for their consumers to experience a tasting menu with several different cup profiles. Part of White Label's success is their willingness to connect their consumers to the cof- fee story. "We really do what we believe in, people feel that it is a genuine thing. We want to share as much as we know now, keeping it open, and that it is a world that they can enter as well," said Oomkens. Two years ago experienced coffee entre- preneur Adam Craig decided to leave his coffee company in Brooklyn, New York and move to Amsterdam. At the time the specialty market was relatively new with a few well-established places and coffee giant Douwe Egberts when Craig, and Paul Jenner opened Lot Sixty One Coffee Roast- ers, a roastery and coffee shop. "A lot of people here drink black coffee, which excites me because I can do a lot of single origins," said Craig: "It was a big of change from a coffee bar that I had in Brooklyn." It takes time for the clients to adapt to the possibilities in the bean from the slow coffee and pour-overs to the newly emerging cold brew, he said. Craig enjoys sharing the stories behind the coffee and allowing his clientele to experience the journey of the bean with their own eyes. "When people come in they see the coffee roaster, the big bags of coffee and they can ex- perience for themselves what we are doing here," says Craig. "So when we get a little technical about the origins, people understand what we are doing," he said. The Netherlands coffee market is growing at a phenomenal rate, said Young. There are healthy coffee chain locations and artisan shops. "The two go hand-in-hand, you want the chain markets to develop coffee drinking as a life style," said Young. "While the artisans will add the extra sparkle to make it really interesting, and push the quality." Absorbing the atmosphere at White Label, Amsterdam Watching the world go by at Coffee Bru, Amsterdam Barrio Alto Nijmegen Hopper coffee in Rotterdam