There had been some excitement in the coffee community after it was revealed a few months ago that local coffee roasters DAK would open their first showroom in Amsterdam. I happened to cycle past the venue shortly after the teaser foils were put on the windows and kept pursuing Louis-Philippe Boucher and Veronique Laharde for details. Sadly, to no avail.
Last week, it finally opened and despite my best intentions, I didn’t get round to visiting until today. Well, what can I say? It really blew my mind. When people talk of a showroom, it’s usually more common for fashion or car brands to have such spaces. Most roasters usually prefer having cafés, often with a full day-time food menu, pastries and sometimes natural wines and what not.
A showroom unlike any other in Amsterdam
DAK’s space, on the other hand, is a real showroom that showcases its finest coffees, a new range of apparell and a small number of accessories like filter papers along side matcha tea. As you walk in, you are greeted by a product island for t-shirts, sweatshirts and caps while on the wall, you will find DAK’s range of white coffee packs. Turning left, you will find more coffee on display next to a small bench that overlooks the insane bar that will make any coffee geek squeal.
On it, there are a 3-group Slayer espresso machine, two Decent espresso machines that are primarily used for making filter coffee, a FloSmart milk dispenser and various grinders. Yako Konstantinidis, DAK’s head of coffee was present when I visited and he immediately offered to give me a tasting of their current menu.
Taste the rainbow
I took a seat near the bar from where I had a great view of the activity behind the coffee machine and Yako kicked things off with an shot of DAK’s Milky Cake espresso. This is a thermal shock washed Castillo variety from Colombia that is also primarily used in its milk beverages. We then continued with a cup of Darling Peach, an anaerobic washed Ethiopian 74158 variety and a shot of the Blueberry boom, which is a similar lot but this time an anaerobic natural.
At the back, there is a ‘secret’ cupping room that will be soon be used for weekly coffee tastings. As was explained to me during my visit, this will be primarily for group bookings and people who want to learn more about coffee. Its bent metal door frame makes it almost look like the entrance to a speakeasy.
The whole space is so well done and has so many features that I’ve not yet seen in any other specialty coffee bars or showrooms for that matter. For a while, everyone kind of used the same tarrazzo style counter tops or elements that Toki was the first to introduce many years ago. DAK mixes lots of textures like metal, wood, concrete and bricks in different shapes and colours to create a warm and yet futuristic looking space.
It’s funny that they should have picked that particular spot to open their first showroom as this 1km of Out West seems to have become THE specialty coffee area of Amsterdam with many other cafés and roasters within a few meters. Yet, as one of the fastest growing roasters in The Netherlands, DAK was long overdue its own space where it could showcase its unique branding and exceptional coffees direct to consumer. It is a real triumph!
