Exploring Coffee Culture in Groningen: A Chat on the New, the Old and the Other with Blair
Exploring Coffee Culture in Groningen: A Chat on the New, the Old and the Other with Blair
I have been living in Groningen for six years and I have witnessed plenty of coffee places open up or close. With the risk of sounding cliché, a new café brings new opportunities to unwind, socialise, or even try out a new, obscure blend of coffee beans. However, a new café sometimes marks the end of another one, with notable mentions for me being Coffee Company and Tucano. Only the employees in Tucano know how many cups of coffee I drank to keep my writing-flow, or how many awkward dates I brought there. Truth is, cafés are more than places where you go to drink coffee. They hold memories, and yet, in the past year, it feels like the market of cafés has changed rapidly.
Is the Groningen market shifting towards capitalising on what is ‘trendy’? And if so, can we even blame the managers who want to make a profit by selling Coffee Boba Tea or Matcha Lattes?
Curious to find an answer to these questions, I decided to reach out to Blair (pseudonym), a student from China who dutifully documents her daily café experiences.
Who is Blair?
Blair, originally from a medium-sized city in China, is a university student who has been a coffee enthusiast since eighteen. Over the years, drinking coffee has become a daily habit. What started as necessary fuel for studies has turned into a pure passion and a way of immersing herself in the local culture. In China, Blair started visiting different coffee spots, from small independent cafés to larger chains which made her acquire a sensitivity for both how coffee tastes and how a place presents itself.
When it comes to coffee preferences, Blair doesn’t have a fixed favourite. ‘It depends on my mood,’ she says. For her morning routine or study sessions, a classic Americano sets the right tone. After a workout, an iced coffee refreshes her, and when craving something a bit more substantial, a Caffe Latte hits the spot. For special mornings, Blair loves a deep-roasted Japanese-style brew with dessert, but her regular choice is medium-roast Columbian beans. ‘I like it because it has a fruity feel to it,’ she added.
Favourite Cafés in Groningen: A Love for Quality
After her move to Groningen, she was eager to explore Dutch cafés. Blair thinks Groningen offers a decent variety of cafés, but she prefers the places that balance a good atmosphere, a bit of flair and good quality coffee. Topping her list of favourite cafés is Black and Bloom. ‘There will be no mistakes here,’ Blair remarks, praising its consistent quality. She also enjoyed Coffee Company before its closure, appreciating the reliability it offered. Another favourite is Sam’s Café (located in the shop Nelson), which she describes as having a homely, experimental vibe. Blair fancies how involved the owner is because that makes her customer experience feel more personal, which reminds her of China’s more intimate café environments.
Dutch Café Culture: What Stands Out?
Several aspects of Dutch café culture caught Blair’s attention. One thing she enjoys here is the availability of standardly good coffee. ‘You can always get coffee here,’ she says, giving as an example chains like Doppio. They may be a tad dull due to their uniformity, but in the end ‘you know what you get.’ She notes, though, that there are places, like Luhu, which stand out for breaking away from the corporate mould. Still, the minimalistic furniture and neat atmosphere in Dutch cafés make her feel like the core of Dutch café culture revolves around making one feel at home to encourage socialising with your loved ones. ‘I feel like in an ideal Dutch café, the environment should not disturb your conversation, but it should also set the mood for socialising.’
Where Dutch Cafés Could Improve
Despite her appreciation for quality coffee, Blair feels that plenty of cafés in Groningen lack a certain personal touch. ‘I prefer smaller chains and cafés,’ she says, adding that many coffee spots in the city feel somewhat ‘disconnected’ from their customers. She misses the communication with baristas in China, where chatting about coffee helped her enhance her experience. ‘In Groningen, baristas don’t talk much to their customers and it feels a bit disconnecting,’ she reflects. Blair sees this as a missed opportunity for the customers to expand their knowledge of coffee and for the managers to learn more about the preferences of their clientele.
Comparing Groningen’s Coffee Culture to China’s
By this point in our interview, Blair has hinted that the coffee culture in the city she is from differs from Groningen. Curious to find out more, I asked her what she thinks are the major differences between the two. According to her, in China, coffee is more of a trend, rather than tradition (like in Europe), and plenty of coffee shops open rapidly to capitalise on the hype. ‘To survive, you need to be unique. But in Europe, coffee is more traditional, so I am not surprised that the coffee experience in Groningen tends to be more standardised.’ Moreover, Blair emphasised that coffee in China uses a different marketing strategy when it comes to quality. ‘Large coffee chains prefer to make coffee prices more affordable to attract prices, even if that comes at the expense of quality.’ By contrast, Blair feels that Dutch people are willing to pay more, as long as they get good quality coffee.
No-Laptop Policies in Cafés: A Controversial Trend
Groningen’s café scene, like many other Western cities, is experiencing a rise in ‘no-laptop’ policies, which Blair finds both understandable and restrictive. ‘It’s good for management, but you can compromise. I know many people stay in cafés without buying anything, but you can maybe make your customers order a drink every hour or so, in a discrete, polite manner.’ As a student, Blair sometimes needs a space to work, but she admits that cafés need to meet certain margins of profit, otherwise they will close.
In China, Blair used to study in cafés every day, but she has found it more challenging to do so in Groningen. After an unpleasant encounter at DE, where she was charged extra for sitting with her laptop before they hung posters announcing their new policies for working in the café, she now double-checks before settling in at a café to work. Despite this, Blair appreciates that coffee prices in Groningen are more affordable than in China (at least if we consider the price-quality ratio), allowing her to sip from a good cup of coffee whenever her heart desires.
The New Café at the University Library: A Mixed Experience
Blair recently visited the newly renovated café in the University Library, Hippie Nana, which replaced the old Starbucks. ‘I am happy Starbucks is gone especially given their controversial political affiliations, but I am unsure about Hippe Nana being a good choice for a library, where students come to study. Perhaps studying culture is different here, it revolves around socialising.’ Furthermore, while Blair appreciates the affordability and variety of coffee-based drinks and food, such as Japanese ramen, she finds the environment overwhelming. ‘The bright pink decor and the loud Polka music are too much,’ she notes, comparing it to a café in a shopping mall. For Blair, Hippe Nana feels the quintessence of Dutch café culture, focused on socialising rather than offering quiet workspaces.
The Rise of Boba Tea: A Curious Addition to Groningen’s café Scene
Speaking of the Japanese ramen served in the Hippie Nana, reminded me of the excessive amount of boba tea places that opened up in the course of a single year. Blair and I counted at least four, but who knows, maybe we missed some. In any case, I was dying to ask Blair what is her opinion on that, especially since boba tea became so mainstream that now you can even order boba tea coffee in chains like DE. ‘I was definitely surprised, and a bit uncomfortable’ she answered. ‘While I love boba tea, I don’t think it belongs in coffee-focused establishments like DE. It was not the boba-coffee I had on my mind, from my past experience at home.’ Blair definitely feels weirded out by how some places jumped onto this trend trying to attract international and Dutch students alike. However, Blair appreciates that Asian-run boba tea shops are becoming more common and sought after. ‘I think that’s nice,’ she remarked, ‘because you get to share a bit of your culture in that way, but also aid other fellow immigrants who maybe crave a taste of familiarity in the boba tea you are offering.’
Changing Cafés in Groningen: A Blend of Tradition and Trends
As Blair experiences more of Groningen’s coffee scene, she has noticed that some cafés come and go, while others remain steadfast. ‘It seems hard to start a new place because the new places always compete with each other while the established places like Black and Bloom continue to thrive untouched by the pressure of any trends.’ While Blair is intrigued by how the café scene in Groningen is influenced by international trends and Dutch tradition, she remains neutral when asked to determine if these changes are positive or negative. ‘I think cafés in Groningen are still finding their balance between independent flair and corporate standardisation, so fluctuating between change and tradition is a normal part of this process.’ Nonetheless, whether you are a coffee aficionado or just on the lookout for a cosy spot to socialise, Blair thinks that Groningen has something to offer – if you know where to look.
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