Friedhats FUKU Cafe: Specialty Coffee in Bos en Lommer, Amsterdam

Friedhats built its name supplying roasters and cafes across Europe, so FUKU is the rare chance to drink the source material where it's roasted. Lex Wenneker, three-time Dutch Barista Champion and runner-up at the 2018 World Barista Championship, co-runs the bar with Dylan Sedgwick, and the pedigree is obvious the moment a pour-over hits the table.

The menu structure tells you where the priorities sit. Standard espresso drinks exist and are handled competently on the Kees van der Westen Mistral, but the real action is the Super Special filter list: rotating micro-lots, anaerobic experiments, and Gesha varietals that would normally require a competition ticket to taste. Brewing runs across batch, V60, and pour-over, dialled in on an EK43 and a Lyn Weber EG-1, which is more grinder hardware than most third-wave cafes bother stocking.

None of this comes with the reverence you'd expect. The room leans pop-art and slightly absurd, with the roastery's medicine-bottle bean canisters lining a retail shelf instead of standard bags. Bring your empties back for a refill discount, a detail that tells you this is a working roastery counter first, café second. The Strawberry Matcha, layered ceremonial matcha over strawberry puree, sits on the menu next to Gesha pour-overs without any apparent irony, which is very on-brand for a place named after a word for good fortune and, reportedly, the founders' blunt reaction to industry pretension.

Food is simple and does its job: granola, savoury toasties, bakery goods, vegetarian and vegan options covered. It's not the reason you come. You come for the filter list, and for baristas who'll talk you through a washed Kenya versus a natural Ethiopia without making you feel like you should already know the answer.

Space is tight and mornings get busy, so if you want the chatty, unrushed version of this place, weekday mornings before midday are the move. Laptop workers get a designated back zone, though power outlets are limited and seating disappears fast during peak hours. Go for the coffee program. Everything else is a bonus.