It has been a while since I last reviewed a coffee place in Amsterdam. Somehow, I find myself going out for coffee less and less, primarily because I have a great set up at home and I’m quite literally indundated with coffee beans that I could not possibly drink. When I do go out, I tend to visit my regular spots but that needs to change! I told myself that starting June, I will visit a new café every week and find out what is going on in my lovely city of Amsterdam so I can recommend you guys, once again, the best places to get great coffee just like I used to!
The first place I want to shine a light on is a particularly cute place called Priesthood right around the corner of the first flat I ever lived in after moving to Amsterdam. In all fairness, the center is not a place I frequent much these days but it’s really nice to see that my old hood has been enriched with some good quality coffee places in recent months.
What’s interesting about Priesthood is that it is a volunteer run café. On the day of my visit, I was attended by the lovely Emma and Rose who run this café together with a few other volunteers. The café is inside a Christian bookshop that is run by the Youth with a Mission group. It’s a cosy space that feels like your grandparent’s living room but thanks to its big windows and convenient location, it attracts a lot of curious folk as well as regulars.
I sat down in an armchair right by the door, which gave me a good overview of the place and allowed me to observe the coming and going. As I sipped on a batchbrew of Rum Baba roasted coffee, I chatted with Emma who is one of the original founders and a local resident.
Her story is that she always loved coffee and one day, she came up with the idea of adding a small pop up café to the bookshop to give create a meeting place for the local community even those who are not Christian or part of the organisation. The pop up eventually became permanent and is still one of the only places in this particular part of town that serves specialty coffee.
On the hopper for espresso they have coffees from Uncommon who is their regular roaster while their selection for filter coffee changes based on what’s fresh and delicious. It can come from the aforementioned Rum Baba as well as other local roasters like DAK or Friedhats. To complement your coffee, you can choose from a selection of tasty cakes and pastries.
What I loved about this place was that it really is hidden in plainsight but all the more welcoming when you do discover it. I must have cycled past this address a dozen times and never noticed it but not that I know where it is, I will try and swing by more often. A great addition to the Amsterdam coffee scene!