Lola Bikes & Coffee, Noordeinde 91, Den Haag, Nederland

Enjoyed a yummy single estate Ethiopian Sidamo #3. And subsequently have been taught what the numbers mean.

Ethiopian rating for green beans:
#1 washed beans of the highest quality
#2 washed beans with some minor defects
#3 unwashed beans of the highest quality
#4 washed beans with some minor defects

The first espresso: The Ethiopia Sidamo #3 roasted by Bocca, was fruity blueberry, sour acidic bitter chocolate with perfume of vanilla. It was that perfect cup with full body balance.

The second espresso: The semi-washed Costa Rican- again roasted by Bocca in Amsterdam. This is a first for me; the initial flavour was rubber, but in a good way, followed very quickly by liquid alcohol sweetness combined with Cassis. It a had a thin body with hints of clover grass, nuttiness and ethanol. The aftertaste was ashy, acidic with hints of grasses.

Owner and Barista Mark Jordan offers the highest quality espresso based drinks, roasted beans and good warm-hearted conversations! He has only been open for 6 weeks, and I am glad to have been completely lucky in finding him, as I was driving around Den Haag looking for a different cafe that I found to be closed, but just beside was Lola! Mark has a passion to compete at the national level and I wish him the best of luck— but of course he is also very intelligent in finding some really great mentors (previous Dutch barista champions and trainers!)