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Café Maha Amsterdam

Café Maha Amsterdam on Vijzelstraat is described as a coffee bar, matcha spot, and part of Maha Amsterdam, with attention to its concept, founders, events, and public mentions.

About Café Maha Amsterdam


Café Maha Amsterdam: profile of a coffee bar in the city center

Café Maha Amsterdam is located at Vijzelstraat 103H in Amsterdam. The venue is situated in the city center and is part of Maha Amsterdam. The café is described by Maha Amsterdam as an extension of the broader Maha environment. Here, coffee, matcha, homeware, community, and events come together in one public-facing concept.

History and Concept

Maha Amsterdam was founded in 2015 by Saskia van Hofwegen and Dian Iskandar. According to available information, the brand emerged from a need for greater female representation in the Amsterdam streetwear market. This background partly explains why the café is presented not only as a hospitality spot but also as an extension of an existing retail and community space.

Saskia van Hofwegen hails from The Hague and has been working in retail since the age of fifteen. She held positions as a sales associate, store manager, and junior buyer before co-founding Maha with Dian Iskandar. Hypebae identified Van Hofwegen and Iskandar as the co-founders of both Maha Amsterdam and Café Maha Amsterdam.

An exact public opening date for Café Maha Amsterdam is not recorded in the official café communications found. However, public LinkedIn snippets link Dian Iskandar to Café Maha Amsterdam from June 2023 and Saskia van Hofwegen from September 2023. Additionally, a documented pop-up took place at the same address from November 30 to December 6, 2023.

Coffee, matcha, and the assortment

The official café page lists coffee and matcha as permanent parts of the offering. Furthermore, the page documents a regular coffee line, matcha latte, and Hojicha latte. The Instagram profile of Café Maha Amsterdam describes the venue as a place for specialty coffee and matcha.

Café Maha Amsterdam has publicly stated that Stooker Specialty Coffee has been the coffee partner since the beginning. According to that communication, the café serves coffee from Stooker daily. An Instagram search result from March 27, 2026, additionally documents a Café Maha Amsterdam Blend on the grinder. This blend was described as a house blend roasted specifically for the café, featuring beans from Kenya, Guatemala, and Brazil.

Less information is available regarding manual brewing methods. The consulted official café page does not document specific methods such as pour-over, batch brew, AeroPress, or V60. As a result, the public image remains primarily focused on the regular coffee line, espresso-based drinks, and matcha variants.

Community and events

Community and events form an explicit part of the public concept of Café Maha Amsterdam. The official information states that the venue can host events, including intimate dinners, brand events, and creative gatherings. It also mentions possibilities for merchandising, lighting, catering, and styling.

In a 2025 article, the café was placed within the broader development of Maha Amsterdam as a community-oriented retail space. The addition of Café Maha Amsterdam was described therein as a way to give visitors space to pause and connect. This positioning aligns with the combination of café, homeware, and meeting place.

The location has also been used for temporary collaborations. The Oh Collective documented a pop-up with Maha+ at Vijzelstraat 103H from November 30 to December 6, 2023. During that period, workshops were scheduled, among others, on December 2 and 5. Additionally, Café Maha Amsterdam was mentioned in an Instagram search result as an official polling station for the Second Chamber election on October 29, from 07:30 to 21:00.

Sustainability and origin

The official café page of Café Maha Amsterdam does not establish a separate sustainability policy. Furthermore, no café-specific procurement practices are described, aside from the collaboration with Stooker Specialty Coffee. This means that publicly available information on origin primarily runs through the coffee partner.

Stooker Specialty Coffee states that it is a certified B Corporation and roasts in Amsterdam. The company claims to source seasonal coffees from farmers in countries such as Colombia, Peru, and Ethiopia. Stooker also mentions traceable lots, collaboration with trusted importers, visits to origin countries, and the development of its own roast profiles in Amsterdam.

Mentions in media and guides

Café Maha Amsterdam appears in various public mentions. Hypebae published an article on March 4, 2025, about ten years of Maha Amsterdam, naming Saskia van Hofwegen and Dian Iskandar as co-founders. Gloobles included Café Maha Amsterdam in an Amsterdam guide and described the location as a café and homeware store within the Maha community.

Restaurant Guru lists Café Maha Amsterdam at Vijzelstraat 103H and displays a Google-derived rating of 4.5 out of 5 based on 92 votes on the retrieved page. Corner describes the venue as a “cafe & home goods” shop at the same address and noted a page update on June 16, 2026. No specific prices or awards for Café Maha Amsterdam were found in the consulted public sources.


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