Morning Owl Coffee

Amsterdam roasters, curated one shelf at a time

Morning Owl is a very small coffee bar on Zeedijk, in the stretch where De Wallen runs into Chinatown, and its job is to put Amsterdam's own roasters in front of people. DAK, Friedhats, Uncommon and Rum Baba are among the names carried or served, and filter runs on rotating single-origin lots, so the list moves rather than settling into a house standard. The shop grew out of garage pop-ups before it took the Zeedijk space, and the counter still does three jobs at once: cafe service, retail curation for people brewing at home, and barista training. The owner works the bar himself, which is why an order here often turns into a conversation about what is open and why it tastes the way it does.

Matcha in a bowl, then through a Decent

The drinks are where the shop stops being ordinary. Matcha is whisked in a bowl and then brewed on a Decent espresso machine kept in the back, which is a long way from whisk and serve. Horchata is made in house with condensed coconut and fresh cashew milk instead of a carton base. Syrups are made on site too, which is how the toasted almond orgeat flat white came about. Espresso drinks are carefully made, with the flat white the clearest order, and the rotating filters sit alongside them. It adds up to a short menu with a distinctive centre: rotating single origins, espresso, matcha, orgeat and horchata.

Flat white, horchata, then a Polvorón

Order the flat white first, and the toasted almond orgeat version when it is on, since it links the espresso to the house syrup work. Horchata is the other drink to try, and the matcha is worth it for the method alone. If filter is the priority, ask what single origin is running and which Amsterdam roaster it came from. Food is small and resourceful rather than a kitchen: house Polvorones with a Mexican accent, pastries built from day-old croissants brought over from the bakery across the road, and chocolate on the retail shelf. There is no indoor seating, so this is a standing or walking visit, which suits a street with as much going on as Zeedijk. Take beans with you, because that is half the reason the shop exists.