Opening Day

16 century paintings from the Old Catholic Church in Amsterdam

Busy
About to open with David and Derek

Saturday, Zachary, Derek and I walked down into the Centrum, meandering back through Jordaan section of town. When we got home, my legs were aching but I was so excited to absorb more of the city while the weather was still good. I spotted a black austere steeple from our apartment and set out to find it. Along the way I found a lovely little staircase down to a dock of concrete and brick along a canal bridge. The little cove faces west and was baked by the afternoon sun. I sat on the edge with my feet barely above the water and started reading Carlos Castenada's "The Teachings of Don Juan." I look forward to many more afternoons sitting in the sunshine in my hidden spot. As the sun moved, I migrated closer to the church, then back to my basking spot until my stomach took me back home.
Sunday, we all set up the cafe. We practiced our brewing methods and multi-tasking to do multiple methods at once, such as syphon, French press, melitta and aeropress. We polished every inch; We pulled shots until it felt like our home bar. We felt ready.
Today, Stumptown Coffee Amsterdam opened for its first day of business. David and I arrived at 7 and I git the grind dialed to be as shockingly sweet, complex and beautiful as it is back home in Portland. Our first guests came from the design agency SidLee, followed by Katie of Counter Culture and Zachary at 8:15. We had, as we will every day, a rush of the SidLee staff, but then throughout the day, many people came. Coffee industry people, enthusiastics... all of them absolutely shocked by the latte art (every person gasped and complimented) and all of them pleased with the coffee. Everyone stayed in the cafe to drink, and I asked how their coffees were as I collected their empty cups. There were so many surprised and pleased people. We had our first cupping at 13:00 (no am/pm here) and several folks showed up. They're already asking if we'll have daily cuppings, when we'll be serving brewed coffee, and on and on.
I left at 2pm to shop in the Albert Cuyp market which surrounds our cafe. I bought a ridiculously cute dress and tons of fresh veggies for dinner. I stopped back into the cafe around 3 and it was slammed. Every table was full and there were lines from customers and Sidlee folks. Today was our first day open, a Monday, and it was terribly cold and rainy... and plenty of people came. I expect it'll be crazy from here on out.
There were several instances during the day where I felt like I was just working at a cafe as usual, and suddenly a customer would order in broken English or simple words, and reality would snap back into place. It's so exciting. Every drink is wowing and being appreciated. People are coming just for the coffee!
I walked home with my groceries through the bitter rain and made potato leek chicken soup. I ate too much and attemped a bike ride to an old church near the center of town. Out of range of any internet, my iphone's map function was somewhat useless and I could not find it. I rode my bike around for 45 minutes, asking police officers and clerks for directions. After a short while, I gave up my silly frustration and enjoyed a bike ride home. It wasn't yet dark. I biked through so many winding cobwebs of bricked streets along canals. The houses are so unique, with the occasional rooftop tilting out over the street or at a sharp angle against its neighbor. It was fun to try to let instinct guide me for a few blocks, then consult a map and backtrack and feel it out from there. I look forward to better learning this town and being able to pronounce and remember the crazy street names. By necessity, I'm learning both old and new amsterdam words, because some of the streets are labeled 4 different ways in as many blocks. Thank god there are a lot of English cognates.
On the way home I stopped to buy a few more groceries and some candy.
It was such an exciting day for not only me, but so many of the people to whom I served coffee. Nearly every person had been anticipating our arrival and was wishing we were staying forever. I cherish people who love good coffee.
I work every day until Friday, then get 3 days in a row off!! Sometime soon, I'll have to travel to Berlin or Barcelona for a weekend.
I am so excited it exhausts me. I am so grateful to be alive and healthy and feel supported in so many ways.
I feel silly going to bed early, but there will be plenty of music to see, places to go to, things to eat for another day!