YUSU

Espresso and filter from independent farms

The counter runs on two things: espresso and filter coffee, made from beans YUSU describes as carefully selected, responsibly produced and bought from independent farmers. The same beans are sold by the bag, in the shop and online, so the programme carries past the cup you drink standing at the bar. YUSU calls itself the new coffee culture, and in Amsterdam-Oost that means a specialty coffee bar where the sourcing, the room and the people using it are treated as one project rather than three separate ones.

A bright room with a stated purpose

Atmosphere is the second reason the bar stands out. Its own positioning is not simply coffee shop: the space is meant to welcome everyone, to avoid excluding or discriminating against any group, and to show different forms of cultural and creative cohesion between guests. YUSU says it wants to contribute to a more progressive society, and that intention is written into how the room reads, bright and welcoming rather than austere. It is the part regulars tend to describe first, before the coffee.

Coffee, then the shelf of collaborations

Order espresso if you want the house style at its most direct, or filter for a longer cup and a slower sit. After that, the shelf is worth a look. The collaborations run to a YUSU football jersey, croc pins and a scarf, alongside other artist-led pieces, so the bar doubles as a small platform for cultural work rather than a counter with merchandise beside the till. Take a bag of beans home if the sourcing is what brought you in; it is the same coffee, and buying it is the most direct way to follow the idea out of the door.