Cafecito Overtoom | Specialty Coffee & Matcha

The beans are roasted by the same company that pulls the shots, and the range on the retail shelf tells you what the bar is capable of before you order anything at all.

A roastery bar, and what sits on the shelf

Cafecito describes itself as a coffee roaster and espressobar, with branches across Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and the Overtoom shop pours what the roastery makes. The house espresso is a Brazil Cerrado, a medium roast with a sweet milk-chocolate register, and the range beside it goes considerably stranger: a carbonic maceration Colombia called Grape Soda, from Campo Hermoso, tasting of grape, honey and bubblegum.

Filter drinkers get a light-roast Rwanda Natural full of black fruit. The decaf is a Swiss Water Colombia with real body and a sweet, rich finish rather than the usual apology. Costa Rica Anaerobic, Colombia Las Perlitas Washed, Espresso Peru Toterani and Espresso Rwanda Natural rotate through the same shelf, so what is on the bar in any given month depends on what has just come out of the roaster.

Espresso, filter, cold brew, matcha

At the bar the formats are espresso, pour-over and cold brew, all on beans roasted in house. Matcha is in the shop's name and carries equal billing, with chai and a short list of specials beside it, so the counter is less coffee-only than a roastery bar usually is.

Expect a small room rather than a brunch destination. The brand's own language runs to craftsmanship, finesse and mindfulness, which in practice means a compact, quiet, work-friendly bar where the drink is the event. Non-coffee extras stay simple: sparkling and still water, apple juice, apple-cherry juice. The brand writes about serving “conscious bon vivants,” which is a grand way of describing people who want one very good cup on the way to work.

Start with espresso, then follow the roast

Espresso first. It is the shortest route into the roaster's own profile, and the Brazil Cerrado gives you the house register in a single cup. If a more unusual lot is on the bar, a pour-over gives the origin and the processing far more room than a shot ever will.

Then choose by temperature. Cold brew handles the coffee without the heat, and matcha is a real alternative here rather than a concession to whoever is not drinking espresso. Chai and the rotating specials widen the path further. Keep food expectations simple: some is available, but this is a drinks counter and it is better for knowing it.