Source: http://thecoffeevine.com/2013/02/14/headfirst

A young Amsterdam institution is “terug van weggeweest”, as they say in Dutch

Headfirst will pull their shots at True Artisan Cafe on Saturday May 3th!

When Jonatan Scheeper and Lex Wenneker first opened their own specialty coffee shop inside Harvest & Co in Amsterdam Oud West in early 2013 I didn’t know it would become the closest thing to a coffee temple I ever knew. Over the next few months Jonatan and Lex worked with me on a number of great initiatives like our beautiful guide to Espresso based drinks and our “Making great coffee at home” workshop. These two coffee fanatics who first made their careers at Coffee Company were poised to make a point of how amazing coffee could taste if you boiled it down to the very basics: great quality, great skills and great service. And from what I could gather they succeeded.

Although being located inside Harvest & Co was a great starting point to build a name for themselves inside a wonderfully decorated design store, Headfirst quickly began to outgrow their former home, which is why Jonatan and Lex started looking for a more suitable location where they could also roast their own beans. Kept under wraps for quite some time and eventually turning into a bit of a painful journey due to major delays in the construction process it was only last weekend that the two friends could finally open the doors of their stunning new home base. If I tell you that Amsterdam’s coffee loving community let out a massive collective sigh then I wouldn’t even be exaggerating.

Located on the busy and pretty hip Westerstraat, Headfirst have created an extremely tasteful and welcoming coffee venue inside a former bike shop. The use of dark metal, heavy stone surfaces and carefully chosen wood elements lend the industrial looking space a much warmer feel than you might expect. Massive floor to ceiling windows provide lots of wonderful natural light, which is especially great if you’re just sipping a quick Espresso at the soon to appear window bar.

In the back room you’ll find their long awaited and perfectly fitting Giesen coffee roaster, which was filling the air with the delicate smell of freshly roasted beans while I sat at one of the tables chatting to a fellow photographer and The Coffeevine fan. Funnily enough, there are even a few certain small elements that do remind you of their former home at Harvest & Co. For example the water tap that’s hidden inside an open cupboard and looks suspiciously vintage. Even the use of the floor and ceiling colours has some resemblance to the former – you guessed it – bike shop where Harvest & Co is located.

I popped in once before Headfirst had unofficially opened their doors and Jonatan was vague about when they would actually open. I guess after such a long time of being in limbo you no longer want to commit to any specific dates. You just want to get the job done and get things moving. During my following visit this morning I had the place all to myself and Jonatan said: “Yesterday it was totally packed. I have no idea where everyone is today.” It only took a few minutes really before the place was buzzing with coffee hungry peeps and I just had to smile to myself. I suppose when people have been eagerly awaiting your return to the local coffee scene, word spreads like wildfire.

To celebrate I gave the boys a beautiful tin of Australian coffee that a dear friend of mine had brought back from down under. Jonatan wasted no time to get the aeropress going and prepare two cups of this Rwanda Nkara roasted by Patricia Coffee Brewers in Melbourne. Being the typical coffee nerd he didn’t just leave it at that. He got out his coffee alchemy kit and analyzed the extraction. “It’s pretty good actually,” was his finding. Anything else would have been a major shock, I believe.

Still when it comes to serving the city’s best Flat White I have to say this gets pretty close. The two men even have a very similar style behind their La Marzocco Strada so no matter who’s serving you you’ll always have an excellent cup of coffee in your hand. As I watched Jonatan make a Cappuccino for a customer, he looked at his latte art for a minute – it was pretty immaculate btw – and then said: “Hm it’s been a while. I guess I am a bit out of practice haha.” Trust me. Even if that was the case you wouldn’t be disappointed.

Basic info:

Opening times: Mo-Sa: 8-18,  Su: 9 – 18
Address: Westerstraat 150, 1015 MP Amsterdam
Connect: Facebook, Website, Twitter
Price check: Espresso €2 / Flat White €3
Espresso machine: La Marzocco Strada
Coffees on offer: various single origin filter and espresso roasts
Milk: Still testing
Wifi: No

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