04/25/06

     For the most part, I didn't care for the Dutch coffeeshop scene.  The coffeshop tends to be small, crowded, and cliqued.  I found the techno-obsessed ambiences of most shops irritating at minimum.  To me, these places had only two good qualities:  great coffee being one of them.  Fortunately, most shops had sidewalk tables that offered a bit of seclusion from the establishment.

     Hunter's Bar was a bit different.  On Warmoesstraat, it was at the heart of redlight activity and sustained a steady flow of patrons.  Musically, Hunter's was nearly as eclectic as me, though I couldn't find any Chopin in the free-for-all, pick-what-ya-wanna-hear, just-like-my-living-room pile of CDs at hand.  Alanis was plentiful in both domestic and import albums, or is that the other way around?

     So how's the coffee?  Orgasmic.  McDonalds was the only place I happened upon a cup sans satisfaction.  McCoffee nederlandse is no better than it is here.  Aside from MickeyD's, every cup is steamed, never dripped.  It's always frothy and strong enough to cut the most sudden morning's plaque.  The Dutch serve coffee two ways:  white or black.  The black is strong and thick, so much so that sugar makes little impact and the flavor is so intense that your mouth reaches such a state of stimulation you miss not any trace of sucrose smoothening.  The white coffee is hardly white; cream will be measured for you, and it's always cream, full-bodied, heavy sweet cream that leaves a vacuole of milk fat floating atop.  Half-and-half is only offered at McDonalds.  Despite it's albino roots, white coffee is as strong and robust as even the most abysmal American brew.  Drinking two cups of coffee guarantees you 12 hours of awake time.  Drink pro re nata.