Focus. Take a look around you. You ordered your flat white to go, data reception is bad here, so what’s there to do than to observe? Lean back on the vintage wooden counter. Maybe you want to order one of those croissants on the side of your coffee? I mean, look at them. Study the shiny top of its egg glaze, the fat stains its butter leaves on the brown baking paper it’s resting on. Fantasize about the light and fluffy texture of the pastry when you take that first bite, chips of the outer layer falling into paper thin crumbles onto the ground. That is what a genuine croissant should do. That is why a good croissant equals a stick of butter.
No, your flat white is still not ready, you know that! The girl behind the counter is grinding some special blend from Ethiopia, this week’s special. That is what’s so great about this place, being surprised with a different version of your regular favorite coffee each week. This week it may tast soft and like a meadow full of flowers; the next it might be bold and remind you of dark chocolate.
The sound of the coffee grinder cuts through the chatter echoing through the hollow acoustic of the cafe. The sun breaks through the big windows that reaches to the ceiling. As the coffee machine presses the hot water though the coffee, that first joy of coffee hits your nostrils. A hint acidic. A touch of flowers. A solid base with the smell of earth after a rain shower. It arouses my taste buds. I long for that first sip. Come to mama, baby. With sharp blows, the coffee machine blows me a silk kiss of milk foam. Almost there.
I have to constrain myself. I know it’s no use to check my timeline. Do I have time to log onto the cafe’s wifi? Don’t. Relax. Enjoy the scene of hipsters that call this cafe their office. Register how they claim the big kitchen table with their silver colored MacBooks, external hard drives and array of electrical cords. Recognize one or two of them from a former lifestyle, a pre-kids lifetime. Think about whether you want to go and say hello…
“Flat white to go?”
Waiting for the best coffee in town has never been this good.
Hopper Coffee
Schiedamse Vest 146
3011 BG Rotterdam
Finkelstein & sons 
I liked how you dismay the thought to check your phone.. It’s hard to do and your description of croissant makes me wanna have some right now!! 🙂
yes, the croissant sounds so good!!
That croissant. I want it.
Loved how descriptive this was. I don’t frequent cafés on a regular basis but your piece took me back to a cute little café called The Bean when I was staying in Seattle in the mid-90s.
Now I want coffee…and a croissant! Great job taping into our emotional experiences with food!
“Come to mama!” Love this phrase and I felt like I was there!