Hopper Coffee, Rotterdam

Coffee is different but familiar.

Rotterdam feels, to my surprise, as lively as Amsterdam albeit with fewer tourists. The pace is more relaxed, calmer, more human. A great city to have coffee, then.

At Schiedamse Vest 146, the aromas of freshly brewed coffee waft from a nondescript post-war building. Home to Hopper Coffee by Karel Rietveld, this café delights with its very high ceilings and expansive sense of space. Lots of beautiful, natural light for taking pictures.

Come here for breakfast or brunch. The food is homemade and the sourdough baked fresh; check out the open kitchen that mirrors the open, friendly nature of the staff. Hopper Coffee roasts their own beans and the quality shows.

Take a sip of your coffee and look out through the large windows at the world passing by. Hopper Coffee is a great place for daydreaming, with a good cuppa or two as the perfect inspiration.

This is minimalism at its best — as a way of life, and not merely a “lifestyle” to pursue. Here’s to hopping over to Hopper Coffee some time soon in the future.

在荷蘭工作的某天，忽然心血來潮的想去看風車，
於是便找了一個週末，從阿森(Assen)搭了火車到鹿特丹(Rotterdam)，
除了到小孩堤防觀賞風車群外，也順道去看看這世界有名的海港，
當然更不能錯過的，還有那的幾家咖啡館。
和阿姆斯特丹到處都是老建築不同，
鹿特丹在二戰時飽受戰火蹂躪，許多的建築都是戰後新建、重建的。

我所到訪的第一家咖啡館Hopper就位於這樣一棟新建築內。
兩層樓高店屋，空間十分的寬敞，再配上自然光和木質家具，
還有長長的吧檯和開放式廚房，讓我第一眼就喜歡上這裡。
告訴咖啡師我所喜歡口味后，請她為我介紹黑咖啡的豆子。
她向我推薦了一支來自衣索比亞的咖啡豆（Gesha Bebeka，Ethiopia），
并選擇了以aeropress來沖泡。
雖然咖啡的色澤略微渾濁，
但入口的剎那，濃郁的花香和果酸齊齊在舌尖起舞，風味一絕，
讓我忍不住的又去續了杯卡布。
除了豆子是自家烘焙外，這裡食物也不馬虎，
自製酸麵包配上其他新鮮食材，就是一份豐盛美味的營養早餐了。