Dutch on coffee
Reflections on Dutch coffee culture from filter coffee to tikkies.
Then I spotted it. ‘Dutch coffee’. And weirdest of all: it was advertised with a premium price.
The first time I heard the adjective ‘Dutch’ being used - out in the wild - was during my exchange semester in South Korea. Although I was following an English-taught bachelor, I fell into the trap of surrounding myself mainly with Dutch people.1 Hence I had little insight into how our Dutch customs really were perceived by foreigners and I was convinced of our Dutch greatness. Of course, I was aware of ‘going Dutch’; a term indicating that each person pays for themselves. No wonder, since the Dutch are infamous for their stinginess.2
In my film class (“Aesthetics of visual media”) I learned that the adjective ‘Dutch’ is placed before everything that causes a sense of unease and discomfort. You can see this in the above-described Dutch pay, the ‘Dutch oven,(I don’t mean the cast iron crockpot, but rather the farting under the blankets to smother your partner in your smell - just like in a Dutch oven), Dutch courage, Dutch bargain, and double Dutch3. In cinematography it is most known in the term ‘ Dutch angle’, where the camera is held at an angle relative to the horizon, to signal that something is off.4
Going Dutch
Dutch pay works fantastically in the Netherlands. It probably comes from the deep-rooted Calvinistic virtues of hard work, sober living, and being economical with one’s resources: a movement against the lavishly burgundy spending of the Catholic South (that was ruled by Spain). This Calvinistic heritage is probably why you’ll never see Dutch fighting over paying the bill, tackling each other to the ground. Dutch will simply paralyze seeing such a circus, because they have no idea what to do. Will they send a tikkie after?5
And if they send a tikkie, will they split the bill exactly in half? (But wait! They had a more expensive dish and an extra beer?!) Or am I now supposed to invite them for dinner as well? What if they chose a more expensive restaurant next time? Maybe then I can cut the costs by not ordering dessert?
Only later I learned that there are international variants on Dutch pay. In Italy, there is pagare alla romana ('to pay as the Romans [do]'), where the bill will be split equally. ‘Going Dutch’ then refers more specifically to splitting the bill based on individual consumption. More to the liking of the Dutch I would say, where one can keep track of their own consumption…
In Korea, ‘Going Dutch’ was a popular term for splitting the bill equally. This was perfect for when a group would get wasted on BBQ and bottles of soju. But then I spotted it: ‘Dutch coffee.’ It was advertised with a Premium price in a gentrified neighborhood of Seoul. I don’t remember exactly how many Korean won it cost, but if an Americano cost 2 euros, this Dutch coffee was priced at an astronomical 7 euros—and I had no idea what it was.
On Dutch Coffee
Yes, there is such a thing as Dutch coffee culture. It comes with a much-loved coffee brand (DE - or short for Douwe Egberts), special-sized coffee cups (which you can collect with points on your DE coffee packaging), and cookies. The Netherlands might be known as a cookie-stingy country. The Dutch grandma is (in)famous for offering everyone one, but only one cookie from the cookie box. After that, she will close it, and hide it away until the next visitor is worthy of one cooking. But at least when you order a coffee in any horeca6 you will receive a small sugar bite with your order. This was not it.
Neither could it have been the “Senseo”, a type of coffee brewing originating from Netherlands. Senseo was the love baby between Dutch engineering brand Philips and Dutch coffee brand Douwe Egberts. It spoke right to the heart of coffee-needing Dutchies. Next to stingy, Dutchies are also known as lazy towards food. The Senseo helped save time with the closed pillows of filter paper incapsulating coffee. The only thing left was placing the pad into the machine, press play and not forgetting to remove the Senseo pad before it got moldy. Indeed, a predecessor of the now more chique brand of Nespresso and its cups. But more Dutch since with Douwe Egberts as the main senseo coffee provider you could collect DE points.7
Only years later I understood that it might be filter coffee that that Korean store referred to as Dutch coffee, or maybe a fancy hand drip or cold brew if they wanted to get that premium price. And even though I grew up with coffee all around me, I didn’t understand the importance of my Dutch filter coffee culture - until I truly went abroad.
Blending into the office
Before the arrival of coffee (and tea which was around the same time) in Europe, alcohol was the main beverage that was consumed on the continent. It was as much consumed as coffee nowadays. From breakfast to dinner - and even at the workplace. For the simple reason that alcohol was one of the only beverages that was safe to drink (in a time before knowledge of bacteria). Coffee turned out to do much more than killing germs; it also cleared the alcoholic fog, increased mental clarity, improved productivity, and - maybe most importantly for the Nordic countries - “liberated” us from the rhythm of the sun. This makes you think twice about who actually benefits most from the paid coffee breaks…..
The Dutch did have a role in spreading the coffee culture in Europe in the seventeenth century. Although coffee had been introduced to the ‘Western civilization’ earlier, Arab traders kept a monopoly on coffee beans and their cultivation. Until a Dutchman smuggled a living coffee plant out of the Arab port of Mocha - into a botanical garden in Amsterdam, to later cultivate it on the plantations on the Indonesian island of Java (which was under Dutch control at the time). You might know the result of the story in the form of Mocha Java blend, a premium coffee nowadays (if you can find it); which mixes the coffee from Mocha and Java together in the world’s first coffee blend.
Now, in the Netherlands, we drink coffee the whole day. In the morning with breakfast, on our desk while working, of course in our coffee breaks (10 am is commonly known as Coffee Time [koffietijd]), and even after dinner. It is not uncommon that a little cup of filter coffee is served with the 8 o’clock news. With this frequency of coffee, it might be no surprise that the Netherlands is in the top 5 coffee consumers worldwide - depending on which statistics you consult - just after the Nordic countries of Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway.
Having my hands around a never-dropping cafeïne supply from the more traditional Philips filter machine, the biggest culture shock when working in Italy was the office coffee culture. There were no coffee machines in the office, and no people working with steaming coffee next to them. Instead, they took the dopamine shot of espresso al banco right into the office: Instead of coffee machines on every floor, there was a true barista in the cafeteria downstairs. A place where the espresso cost 90 cents and the cappuccino 1,30. This unlocked a whole new cultural dilemma in Dutch-me. Not only how much money a day I would spend on coffee (being on an internship budget), but also how much to pay for others? That was a serious question.
Now you remember that going Dutch means everybody pays for their own things. But Tikkie was definitely not going to happen here. Not even among the Dutch. And so to ensure that other people would not feel to be taken advantage of by a stingy Dutchie, I always made sure to settle my debts. And this meant keeping track of who had offered me a coffee. But how to deal with those coffees after lunch for 10 people that I might never receive anything back from (our team was 60 people) And those coffees offered by people with a salary ten times my internship budget? The much I wanted to let go of these Dutch thoughts and traits - to keep track, to budget, be frugal, be economical but also being ok to spend money on others - it wasn’t that easy for my Dutch brain.
Taking care with coffee
A few weeks ago I stumbled upon this life lesson from Stella Tsantekidou from the Human Carbohydrate
Buy people coffee and drinks whenever you can; they may not always reciprocate, but you are not doing it because you need a free coffee in the future. People will forget what you tell them but will never forget how you made them feel. Our parents bought us things for free, without expectation, for the first and the longest time. People will never forget you made them feel taken care of and thought of.
This mindset I would have loved to learn earlier. Until spending more time around Mediterranean people (Italians, Spanish, and Greeks) I felt always awkward when paid for me. I remember meeting a Syrian man I was helping with learning Dutch while standing in line at the supermarket. He immediately insisted on paying for my can of tuna. After a 5-minute-long fight about that that was not needed, I gave up. Feeling extremely uncomfortable. In my Dutchness. Why didn’t I know how to respond in this situation? Should I have fought back longer? But mostly because I knew I would probably not do the gesture back - out of myself. Similarly, I wouldn’t like it when guys would go to the toilet and secretly pay for our date. Partly, because I didn’t want to leave a debt (in case I didn’t liked them), partly because I felt not seen as an equal. But also because - back then - I would not and financially could not have initiated such a gesture. Admittingly, my brain jumped with the thought: “omg yes free food”.
For those thoughts, I felt ashamed. So, ashamed that later I tried to rewire my brain by overcompensating and proving to others that I wasn’t Dutch on food. By not sending tikkies after dinner in my house, by making sure there was enough food and no empty plates (because then someone is hungry!), and by giving leftovers away in Tupperware.
What had changed? A good salary. Definitely. But also, I had learned that food was about much more. My invitees would not remember the food. But they would remember the feeling. And tikkies leave a very bad feeling.
Eventually, I surprised myself by giving my new colleagues precious pieces of Parmigiano cheese - without asking for anything back.
More and more, I can accept coffee, food, or a gift without having disturbing thoughts. Yes, the thoughts are still there, but more scolding my own spending habits. But I know that I will give that coffee feeling back.
One way or another.
And if not. I can simply swish8 it back.
Simple filter coffee
Although the quality of the Dutch filter might not be the same as the Italian espresso, I love having again the warm coffee on my desk. Preferably a cup of Dutch filter coffee from the more traditional Philips machine.
It turned out however that there was such a thing as premium Dutch filter coffee abroad. I had just never seen it. My Finish colleague proudly told me she just got herself a new Moccamaster and jaw-dropped when I replied that I had no idea what she was talking about “It is the most famous Dutch brand in Finland!”. Apparently another product of Douwe Egberts, that got out of fashion with the senseo but remained highly popular in the Nordics. After Senseo,9 many Dutch however went back to a simple filter. Others got themselves an Italian Bialetti or a true an espresso machine.
Now in my current Swedish office, the coffee is not the best. But at least we Finnish, Swedish, and Dutch can find each other blanket-wrapped in the coffee-sipping culture that I had so missed in Italy. The Swedish take it one step further with putting no end to this coffee time - by calling it Fika. Maybe that is why they didn’t supply the best coffee in the office. But at least it is free.10
——
There are some reasons for this. Some of which due to the particularities of Dutch student life such as student-associations [studentenverenigingen]
This article tells the story that the term ‘going Dutch’ is based on a misunderstanding. A bar owner who wanted customers to have every customer pay for their own drink referred to his Pennsylvania-German (Deutsch) customers who already did this. This eventually was wrongly translated by the Americans into Pennsylvania Dutch.
This interesting Reddit post contains a list of 'Dutch insults’. My favorite? DUTCH ALPS: Small breasts. The user explained that the origin of these insults lies in the 17th-century wars between the British and the Dutch. Couldn’t verify. But seems plausible.
Funny thing. Google Dutch angle and your whole Google search page will be slightly tilted!
Tikkie is an app supported by Dutch banks with which you can ask someone for money. It is similar to a feature in the international app ‘Revolut’, or to the Swedish ‘Swish’ and Danish ‘mobile pay’. The difference is however that you cannot send money - only request money. The Dutch use it for basically everything. And a bit too far, as you can see from some Reddit stories.
Horeca is an acronym that stands for Hotel, Restaurant, and Café/Catering
Douwe Egberts introduced in 1924 collectible points on their coffee products, that could be saved up and exchanged for coffee-related products ranging from the typical DE cups to - three times guess - a Senseo machine. Generations have cut out the dark brown golden almost Willy Wonka looking like points from the coffee and later also Pickwick tea boxes, saving them in the well-known dark brown tin box. My collection after two years will not buy me much…
Recently in the news: the Dutch household appliances chain Blokker went bankrupt. It was one of the last companies were you could still exchange your DE points. The couple in the article was devasted: where to go with our points?
Hoe moet het verder met Douwe Egberts-punten? 'Niet van geslapen'
Swish is the Swedish payment app where you can send (thus not request) other people money.
More on the senseo trend in https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/02/01/de-opkomst-en-neergang-van-senseo-van-leeg-verkochte-winkels-naar-slappe-bak-a4881429 https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/02/01/de-opkomst-en-neergang-van-senseo-van-leeg-verkochte-winkels-naar-slappe-bak-a4881429 [paywall, Dutch]
Not really. It is specified in my benefit package (for tax purposes) that I receive 800 kr a year on coffee and tea in the office. Jup, in Swedish everything is a taxable benefit.
Haha my next creative project is actually about "Going Dutch." Cultural differences can be so interesting...especially the Tikkie culture in The Netherlands (so many fun stories). In Chinese culture, it can be rude to split the bill, and it's common to fight to pay the bill (it's actually kinda annoying at times). Did you find that true in Korea too?
Very interesting read! What I liked most about the post is how you are realising your perspective changing while your background is resisting. It really shows how important it is for one to expose themselves in different cultures not necessarily to change habits but to at least get in other people's shoes. Loved it!