Café Mint

Café Mint is located at Mecklenburglaan 3-5 in Utrecht Oost. The café is part of De Wilg, also known in combination with De Meck and Café Mint. The location is therefore not a standalone hospitality venue, but rather situated within an existing neighborhood-focused facility.

Joeke Sondorp opened Café Mint on Thursday, January 18, 2024. Public sources name her as the person behind the opening. Further details about founders or a broader ownership structure are not publicly documented in the available material.

Sondorp is described as someone who has lived in the neighborhood for a long time. She was also familiar with De Wilg and its regular visitors. This context helps place the concept. Café Mint was not only set up as a hospitality point, but also as a meeting place within an existing network in the district.

De Wilg describes the café as a place where people can drink coffee, eat something, work, and talk with one another. The social function also plays a role. The café is run by two professionals and volunteers. According to De Wilg, people can also discover and further develop their talents there.

For coffee lovers, the combination of neighborhood function and coffee service is particularly relevant. Café Mint lists Nordkapp Coffee as its coffee supplier. This roastery is described in the public listing as a local roastery. The available information contains no details about fixed beans, rotating origins, or specific roast profiles.

The documented coffees are recognizable café preparations. Mentioned are espresso, cappuccino, and regular filter coffee. The menu also lists black coffee, café latte, flat white, and latte macchiato. Thus, the offering focuses on standard espresso and milk-based drinks, supplemented by filter coffee.

Beyond coffee, the menu also features a variety of other beverages. The selection includes fresh mint or ginger tea, regular tea, soft drinks, beer, and non-alcoholic beer. Red and white wines are also listed. This range clearly shows that Café Mint is designed to be more than just a coffee bar.

The food offerings cover breakfast, lunch, and simple café staples. Documented items include breakfast, yogurt with granola, a cheese sandwich, the soup of the week, and the salad of the week. The menu also lists sandwiches, tosti’s, the cake or pie of the day, and chips.

The mention of a soup of the week and a salad of the week suggests that some items rotate. The sources do not specify which dishes are available on fixed days. However, it is known that a volunteer from De Wilg prepares fresh soup. This fits well with the broader role volunteers play in the café.

Café Mint also has a place in the activities surrounding De Wilg. De Wilg states that people can meet, share, and develop their talents there. It has also been reported that regular visitors to De Wilg work in the café, particularly in service and the kitchen.

A concrete example is Club Collage. This creative activity takes place monthly in Café Mint on the last Wednesday of each month. Additionally, in April 2024, it was noted that Rechtstreex launched in Utrecht Oost, with Café Mint serving as a pickup point for grocery deliveries.

Café Mint also features in other activities. During the KABAAL End-of-Year Party at De Wilg and Café Mint, the café provided soup, tosti’s, and drinks. Furthermore, Verhaaltjes onder de Wilg is documented as a monthly storytelling activity for children, scheduled to begin in the autumn of 2026.

Regarding local sourcing, the intent of Joeke Sondorp is primarily documented. She expressed a desire to continue seeking out local products and dishes with a recognizable origin. The collaboration with Rechtstreex aligns with this, as the service is described in the source material as a provider of local food products.

For coffee, Nordkapp Coffee is the documented supplier. This roastery states that it works with selected importers and farmers. Nordkapp also mentions that it purchases through a limited number of importers who know the farmers personally. The roastery describes sustainable relationships throughout the supply chain as its starting point.

Nordkapp further states that the supply chain is transparent and that producers receive a fair price for their production. At the same time, the roastery notes that it does not use the Fairtrade label or similar certifications. For hospitality clients in Utrecht, Nordkapp delivers freshly roasted coffee by cargo bike. For home orders, the company works with De Fietskoerier.

Café Mint received attention in a local report in January 2024 regarding its opening. In May 2024, the café was mentioned again in an article about De Wilg and its neighborhood-focused activities. Joeke Sondorp was also named as the hostess of Café Mint in a March 2024 edition.

In that mention, the new Café Mint was described as a place for breakfast, coffee, and lunch. No public documentation of prices or inclusion in award lists was found in the examined material. Therefore, the available picture is primarily that of a young neighborhood café with a social role within De Wilg.