Mar 15 2009
Dutch Deli, Orewa (Mocha only)
On a trip accompanying one of my dear friend to sit their driving test (because it’s silly to drive on your own to a test site without a full car license holder :P), I had the chance to look around in the Orewa shopping district for a cafe to wait out the hour gap while my friend took the driving test!
I happened across this particular Dutch deli selling, well, Dutch-related goods such as cheese and confectioneries. They also happened to sell freshly-made coffee and, feeling a little bit under the weather (I woke a little bit earlier this morning) I decided a cup of mocha would probably perk me up for a good few hours. According to the store attendant, she said that their coffee was the best in Orewa… she then said that she wouldn’t know if that’s true or not because she doesn’t drink coffee at all herself! Some alarm bells started ringing in my head but being the stubborn kind of person that would try almost anything related to food once (save for those under the offal category and those under the creepy-crawlies category) , I decided to try their mochaccino and see for myself how good it was.
Well, they said that the coffee blend they used was of the Dutch blend, and upon my first sip I couldn’t really tell what exactly I was drinking - the coffee taste barely registered on my palate, it’s almost like sipping a hot, milky drink as opposed to the sweet, bold mocha that I’m used to. Yet it is clearly coffee because my sleepiness is slowly fading away and my brain has decided to function in a way that enables me to write this blog post =p
Perhaps I’m just not coffee literate enough to understand my experience?? This is where I would ask my coffee-literate readers for some help; have you had Dutch coffee? What does it taste like to you? Are they generally weaker than the Karajoz / Wildbeans / Other blends? I clearly saw her grab the coffee from the coffee bean grinder so it’s not instant coffee - but the lack of signal from my palate shouting “Hey you’re drinking coffee!” is baffling to say the least!
Hi,
I’m from Singapore but from what I see around me in NL, the dutch r indeed coffee drinkers ! My in-laws doesnt hv tea at all n when we r there for weekend visits, I bring my own olong-tea leaves for my cuppa.
Coffee here is basically a combination of Arabica n Robusta beans. I heard from hubby that a good cuppa comes from freshly grounded beans instead of the filter-coffee sold in most supermarts.
Coffee served over the counters r usually dilute n lack the real taste (McD’s). I do enjoy the rich cappuccino at Coffee Bean n Tea Leaves when in SG. The dark n overly sweet coffee served in Arabian countries is also worth a try. U will get a similar cuppa in Asian coffee stalls but at least the grounds r filtered b4 serving.
The milky coffee served in Italy is yummy - they invigorate us first thing in the morning. The rest of the day, only the dark expresso is served. If only the cups were bigger, we would be satisfied !
@Feron: Please let me know if you dig up anything interesting! As far as google can tell me, there aren’t any places that serve Kape Barako :(
@cafe au lait: Thank you for dropping by anyway :)
@Dutchie: Ohh.. coffee in Italy sounds lovely! I’d love to try that someday :) But I don’t think I can handle more than two cups of coffee… I”d be bouncing off the walls otherwise! And I definitely agree, freshly grounded coffee are the best! The difference is really visible between fresh versus filtered and instant coffee mixes…
I’m sure if you keep brewing some fine oolong tea, you might be able to pique your in-law’s interest… chinese tea isn’t that accessible here in New Zealand (if you’re wanting the premium kind, as far as I know) so whenever I head over to a Chinese friend’s house and they make some from their own stash… mm!
@Vicky: Thanks for dropping by! Let me know if you manage to come across some Dutch coffee yourself :)
@Sparkzspot: Thank you for your kind words :)
@Jeet: I had a quick google on Dutch coffee shops in Mumbai - don’t seem to see any! You’ll probably have to find a Dutch Delicatessen if you want more information in this area :P Good luck!
@Vicky: A quick trip up to Orewa should do the trick if you’re in Auckland hehe :) Unfortunately I don’t have access to them at this stage so can’t send you any! (wish I was representing them though…) Thanks for dropping by!
lol ugh the coffee sounds entirely disappointing.
great blog! i love reading it =)
by the way, i recently discovered that the Engineering cafe at auckland uni do excellent decaf mochachino, and their prices are really decent. I am looking forward to trying their normal mochachino