Keen Coffee Bar

Keen Coffee Bar is located at Ganzenmarkt 30 in the center of Utrecht. The location is in the Stadhuiskwartier, within the Utrecht city center. According to available business information, Keen Coffee opened the tasting bar in August 2024. The bar is part of Keen Coffee, a Utrecht-based coffee roastery founded in 2016 by Bonne Postma, Joris Goossens, and Roderick Schouten.

The bar is described in available information as a tasting room for specialty coffee. This concept aligns with Keen Coffee’s role as a roastery. Rather than just serving coffee, the location presents coffee as a product with origin, processing, and flavor profile. According to Keen Coffee, visitors can taste more than 15 types of coffee beans there. The bar provides information about farms, countries of origin, processing methods, and the flavor wheel.

The choice of a tasting room places the bar within a growing interest in coffee as a craft product. Available information shows that Keen Coffee uses the location to combine roasting, sales, and knowledge transfer. CM Utrecht describes the business as a place where visitors can discover, compare, and ask questions about coffee. This places the emphasis on explanation and comparison, in addition to regular hospitality.

Public information identifies the coffee at Keen Coffee Bar as coffee from Keen Coffee. The sources examined name Keen Coffee as the beans used and describe the location as connected to its own roastery. The name Shokunin Coffee does not appear in the available documentation as the roaster for this bar. Shokunin Coffee is separately known as a coffee roastery in Rotterdam.

Keen Coffee states that all beans, origins, and roasts from the webshop are also available in retail packaging at the bar. The bar therefore also functions as a sales point for the own roastery. According to available information, the coffee menu includes espresso, cappuccino, pour-over, filter coffee, Hario V60, milk drinks, decaf, matcha latte, and cold brew or drip.

For guided tastings, Keen Coffee mentions two contrasting filter coffees with a food pairing, a series of espressos, and a series of milk drinks. The Coffeevine described a La Marzocco Leva espresso machine and an espresso flight with espresso and cortado during a visit. These details provide insight into the technical and tasting-focused setup of the bar.

Keen Coffee offers guided tastings in the bar for groups of two to six people. The sessions last one hour and are available from Monday to Friday between 10:00 and 15:00. For larger groups, Keen Coffee refers visitors to the training room at the roastery. This allows the company to divide smaller tastings and larger sessions across two locations.

In addition to tastings, Keen Coffee lists various training categories. The available information mentions Barista Essentials, Espresso Master, Sensory Master, Train the Trainer, and Latte Art. Keen Coffee was also mentioned in 2020 in connection with The Mindful Coffee Tasting Experience, alongside Just Breathe London. These activities point to a broader role for knowledge transfer within the company.

Keen Coffee states that it works directly with farmers, cups coffees, selects harvests, and supports projects aimed at improving quality. According to company information, this approach began with a collaboration with Natalia, a coffee farmer in Brazil. Keen Coffee also claims that direct trade enables them to pay farmers more than 150 percent of C-market prices.

CM Utrecht describes two categories within Keen Coffee's coffee portfolio. The first consists of five coffee farmers with long-term partnerships. The second comprises a larger seasonal offering purchased through traders. The coffee is then roasted in their own roastery in the Werkspoorkwartier. Keen Coffee mentions using a Loring roaster and describes the roasting process as smoke-free and energy-efficient.

The bar lists Oatly and De Brienenshof as options or suppliers for milk. Keen Coffee also states that the food menu is entirely vegetarian. For tableware, the company documents a local collaboration with Husk Ceramics in Utrecht. These details show how the bar makes choices regarding dairy, food, and material use in addition to coffee.

The opening of Keen Coffee Bar received attention in Utrecht and international coffee media. DUIC reported in May 2024 on the plan for a pilot location at Ganzenmarkt. CM Utrecht published an article about the location in the Stadhuiskwartier. European Coffee Trip and 18 GRAM mention the bar as an Utrecht coffee location and document details such as address, beans, brewing methods, and services.

Available sources place Keen Coffee Bar primarily within the specialty coffee sector. The establishment combines an inner-city bar with the activities of an existing roastery. The profile revolves around their own coffee, tastings, explanations of origin, and bean sales. As a result, the location is not just a café, but also a public gateway to Keen Coffee's approach as an Utrecht roastery.