Screaming Beans

Whisper blend espresso and single-origin filter set the counter at Screaming Beans, whose original Amsterdam shop has stood on Runstraat, in De 9 Straatjes, since 2007. The company roasts 100% organic specialty coffee from farms worldwide, and it now runs three central coffee bars alongside wholesale and direct online sales.

Espresso, filter and decaf, all organic

The coffee programme is the reason to go, and the range sets out its structure plainly: Whisper Blend for espresso, El Mandarino from Honduras for filter, and a Mexican decaf for espresso. House blend, single origin and decaf, roasted around clean flavour, consistent quality and 100% organic sourcing.

Whisper is the blend to know. It is built from Colombian and Ethiopian coffee, which gives it enough sweetness to hold up in milk and enough acidity to stay interesting as a straight shot. El Mandarino covers the filter side, where the roast is lighter and the cup is meant to be read rather than softened. Decaf sits in the espresso line rather than at the end of the menu as an afterthought.

Runstraat, in De 9 Straatjes

The original shop sits in De 9 Straatjes, the pocket of narrow shopping streets between the canals, where locals, expats and visitors move through all day. That setting explains the pace: the room is sleek and modern, sized for a quick, well-made drink and a short pause rather than an afternoon at a laptop.

Screaming Beans is a coffee bar rather than a kitchen-led café. Beyond the counter the business runs wholesale and sells beans directly, so the bar and the retail shelf carry the same coffees. The brand’s own line, that it roasts to fuel the moments ideas are born, is a fair description of how the room gets used.

Order the Whisper blend first, then the filter

For a first visit, take Whisper as espresso; it is the clearest statement of the house style. A flat white is the other good route into the same blend, smooth and full-bodied, if you want the Colombian and Ethiopian components rounded out rather than concentrated.

Then move to filter, where El Mandarino or whichever Honduran lot is current shows the lighter side of the roasting. Decaf espresso is a proper option here rather than a fallback. Food is a small supporting act: a cabinet of cakes and pastries beside the counter, plus a short savoury selection. Keep the order coffee-led, and take a bag of the same beans home if the cup lands.