Uncommon Café

Uncommon Café is located at Eerste Constantijn Huygensstraat 63H in Amsterdam-West. The establishment is situated in the vicinity of Vondelpark and Museumplein. The café evolved from Common Greens, which opened its first coffee bar in Oud-West in 2020 under the name Uncommon. The business is described as a combination of a coffee roastery and a coffee bar.

The founding of Uncommon is associated with Claye Tobin, Nina Tromp, and Josh Cotton. Tobin is Australian, Tromp is Dutch, and Cotton is British. That international background plays a visible role in the company’s profile. At the same time, the location remains clearly connected to Amsterdam-West, where the café focuses on specialty coffee and a plant-based menu.

The concept of Uncommon revolves around origin, production, and context. The café’s communication emphasizes the stories of producers, microclimate, coffee variety, altitude, and processing method. The establishment is also set up as a laptop-free zone. According to its own explanation, this is intended to help people pay more attention to the coffee, conversation, and the information behind the products.

The coffee in the café is linked to Uncommon Coffee. The offering is composed seasonally and described in terms of origin, processing, and variety. This aligns the establishment with a broader specialty coffee approach, in which the characteristics of green coffee and the choices of producers are central.

The menu features well-known coffee preparations such as espresso, flat white, cappuccino, latte, cortado, and espresso macchiato. In addition, the café lists filter coffee and Uncommon Filter. This structure distinguishes between espresso-based drinks and filter preparations. For visitors who do not drink coffee, the menu includes matcha, chai, sodas, hot chocolate, local organic apple juice, and coconut water.

The webshop and current coffee lists showcase a rotating selection from multiple origin countries. Mentioned coffees include San Ignacio from Peru, Flores de Minas and Fazenda Bioma from Brazil, Kibingo from Burundi, La Piragua from Colombia, and Rumudamo and Keramo from Ethiopia. Also listed are Jhoan Vergara Decaf from Colombia, Nahun Fernandez from Honduras, Bill Klinton from Peru, and Hacienda Misiones from Colombia.

In addition to the first café, there is a separate Uncommon Bar on the opposite side of the street. This location is described as a place featuring a list of coffees and so-called signature coffee experiences. A documented example of this included cascara soda, Geisha Blossom tea, and a shot of espresso. This gives coffee a different form there than just the standard cup or espresso drink.

The café describes its menu as plant-based. According to their own information, almost every menu item can be made vegan or gluten-free, with the caveat that traces may be present. Uncommon also mentions local artisanal producers with whom they work whenever possible. Examples include Le Vain et Le Vin for sourdough bread, Mycophilia for mushrooms, and Wim Bijma for a portion of the vegetables.

Uncommon organizes public cuppings where seasonal coffees are tasted and producer information is discussed. A cupping with Costa Rican producer Ivan Solis Rivera is also mentioned. Such events place tastings in a broader context of origin, processing, and direct information about producers.

The events page also lists activities outside the fixed coffee menu. Examples include an exhibition with Yellow Nose Studio, a water-for-coffee event with Apax Lab, Brunch for Peace, Uncommon Sessions with Nomad Coffee and This Side Up, Nomad at Uncommon, Wild Ice Cream Night, and Listening Sessions. Internally, Uncommon is described as a team of approximately twenty employees from multiple countries, with monthly moments for feedback.

Uncommon states that it builds close relationships with coffee producers and pays premiums for the green coffee it purchases. Various origin projects are mentioned in the documentation. A project in Myanmar relates to alternatives to opium production. Work with Filtro is also mentioned, focusing on natural water filters for schools and villages in Guatemala.

It is further reported that 80 to 90 percent of green coffee purchases are organically certified or hold a similar accreditation, such as Rainforest Alliance. A described example concerns Las Lajas in Costa Rica. For the Myanmar project, Uncommon continued to buy coffee at a premium, and a percentage of the profit was reserved for coffee seedlings for local farmers.

Uncommon has been described in trade media as a coffee bar and roastery in Amsterdam. Publications noted the opening of the first bar in Oud-West, the team around Josh Cotton, Claye Tobin, and Nina Tromp, and later the opening of Uncommon Bar on the opposite side of the first location. Common Greens Coffee was also mentioned in 2020 at Roast Masters, with Josh Cotton as a participating roaster and Claye Tobin as a participating barista.