The annual Misset Horeca Coffee Top 100 list was released this week, so where can you score the best cup of coffee in the north?
According to the 2018 list, the highest scoring cup of coffee in the north came from Grand Café Z in the centre of Leeuwarden in Friesland, which came in 15th place. Food Matterz in Groningen, which opened on the corner of the Oude Ebbingestraat and the Spilsluizen, was in 18th place and had the highest score in the province.
In Drachten in Friesland, ‘t Smenehus came in 19th place. The highest scoring cup of coffee in Drenthe came from De Konditorei, which is located in Roden and came in at 38. Another Groningen city café, ‘t Feithhuis, which is across the street from the Martini Church, is ranked 82nd on the list. There were no cafes located outside of the city of Groningen on the list for the province.
Klokkenstoel and Nobel
Cafes in two tiny Frisian towns also made the list: Klokkenstoel in Goingarijp, whose total population is only 250 people, came in 86th, and Nobel in Ballum (total population: 350) was 99th. The Misset Horeca review of Nobel pointed out that the Frisian café is also included among the top 100 terraces and cafes in the Netherlands. Leeuwarden rounded out the top 100 with Post Plaza claiming the last spot.
Of the northern provinces, Friesland was the best represented. Drenthe only had one café on the list, and Groningen had two, but Friesland had five. The list includes cafes from across the country, and the north had the fewest cafes make the cut. Many of the businesses in the top 100 were clustered in or around the Randstad: Utrecht had 12, Zuid-Holland had 11 and Noord-Holland had 20. Beyond the Randstad, Noord-Brabant has 12, Gelderland had 10, Overijssel had 8, Limburg had 15, and Zeeland had 4. There were no cafes in Flevoland that made the cut.
Black & Bloom
The annual list named Boot Koffie in Amersfoort as the best place to get a cup of coffee in the Netherlands in 2018. RTV Drenthe reports that coffee shops can either sign themselves up or their coffee supplier can sign them up to be considered for the list. Misset Horeca, which primarily functions as a news site for the catering and hospitality industry, sends 50 coffee specialists to the 200 or so businesses in the long list in two rounds.
The experts narrow the list down to a top 100, and the top eight cafes get a third visit from a panel of seven top judges to determine the top ranking. Gerben Engelkes, the owner of Black & Bloom, joined several other recent Top 100 winners as a top judge, which likely explains why Black & Bloom was not included in this year’s list. Black & Bloom on the Oude Kijk in ‘t Jatstraat in Groningen debuted at second place on the list after opening its doors in 2014 and rose to first place in 2016. Other judges on the top level included Renate Calessens, the 2017 winner, Nicky Maas, the 2015 winner, and members of the international Specialty Coffee Association.
Photo source: Wikipedia
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