International Coffee Day & it's time for a grand celebration @

Duckrabbit Coffee Brewers, Den Haag, The Netherlands

Den Haag for locals and The Hague for everyone else, this historic city is the Administrative Capital of The Netherlands. Despite being a very international city, Den Haag has surprisingly limited options on specialty coffee until I discovered Duckrabbit Coffee.

Welcome back after a short one week break & I start this Cafelogue No.51 at Duckrabbit Coffee wishing each of my coffee amigos a Very Happy International Coffee Day on October 1^st.

This coffeeplace  is absolutely gorgeous with a long wooden bar that stretches almost along the entire wall. There is seating along the shop window overlooking the street as well as along the coffee bar, a nice design detail that I have not seen much in Dutch specialty coffee shops.

As you move to the back of the café, there is a large table with seating space for 6-8 people followed by nice shelf with freshly roasted coffee beans from roasters like Maze Lab, Shokunin and Caffènation. What I loved the most about this place is there is always a chance for a conversation with the Coffee Master aka Barista.

Wesley Piket is the owner of Duckrabbit Coffee Brewers and before starting this new venture he worked at the Rotterdam’s well known specialty coffee roaster Giraffe.

The name Duckrabbit is from an illustration created by a German artist from 19^th century. The ambiguous Duck-Rabbit figure supposedly reveals whether you are spontaneous or deep thinker based on which animal you see first in the optical illusion. You’ll experience something called ‘Gestalt Switch’, a process whereby your perception suddenly shifts. Funky name indeed for a specialty coffee place!

Wesley prepares his espresso drinks on a San Remo machine while hand brewed filter coffees are usually prepared with the Kalita Wave and sometimes with the Aeropress.

Coffee Roastery:Mazelab Coffee,Prague,Czechia

A MINDFUL ROASTERY DEDICATED TO THE ART OF TASTE

Coffee is a special substance. It brings people together. Just like it did with the partners at Mazelab. Two people from two different worlds who met in a coffee shop, and their love began with coffee. Jackie and Thu, life partners and creators of Mazelab.

Mazelab is their creative playground, a coffee lab where they roast and brew passionately selected beans for curious minds from all over the world. With care and attention to highlight each variety’s natural character.

Beans for curious minds!

Coffee Farm : Leon Christianakis, Tanzania

Leon’s farm, Acacia Hills, was listed as the winner of a private auction in Tanzania organized by ACE (The Alliance for Coffee Excellence).

Leon’s story embodies the history of coffee production in northern Tanzania itself, and it also vividly reflects the future of specialty coffee in Tanzania.

The history of coffee in northern Tanzania begins in the 19th century. Coffee trees were brought to northern Tanzania from Reunion Island near Madagascar and immigrants from Germany, the occupying country at the time, developed it into an industry.

Leon’s grandparents were also immigrants who came to Tanzania from Greece around the early 1900s and made a living from coffee production. Leon is the third generation of the family. The family’s house is located on the outskirts of Arusha, near the Kilimanjaro International Airport. His grandfather and father mostly grew coffee in its surrounding plantations, but the land was not suitable for producing high quality coffee due to its low altitude. Leon learned about the concept of specialty coffee in the 2000s and started looking for lands in high altitude that could produce higher quality coffee.

It was around this time that Leon met his current business partner, Mark Stell, the founder of Portland Coffee Roasters in the US. Leon and Mark hit it off, and in 2007 they jointly purchased a coffee plantation on Mount Oldeani, which is now known as Acacia Hills. Leon was convinced that if Mark, who knew about roasting, and he, who knew about farming, could work together, they could create a synergy and the rest as they say is coffee history.

• Roastery : Mazelab Coffee, Prague, Czech Republic

• Coffee Origin : Tanzania

• Farm : Acacia Hills

• Producer : Leon Christianakis

• Varietal : Washed Kent

• Flavor Profile : Black Tea, Spices, Herbs, Round

Once again, a Very Happy International Coffee Day and stay caffeinated until the next cafelogue. Ciao!