Hopper Coffee & Bakery

Hopper Coffee & Bakery is located at Schiedamse Vest 146 in the center of Rotterdam. The establishment is publicly listed as a coffee bar and bakery. According to available information, Hopper has been open since early 2011. The plan for the coffee bar originated in 2010. From the start, the concept focused on coffee, lunch, and house-made products, with flavor serving as the guiding principle for the selection of their offerings.

Karel Rietveld is cited as the person who started Hopper on the Schiedamse Vest. Patricia Schildkamp is also mentioned in connection with the management of Hopper Coffee Centrum. Rietveld had previously sold businesses such as Sijf and Tast Toe before starting Hopper. This background places Hopper within a broader Rotterdam hospitality context, yet the establishment developed its own distinct profile centered around coffee and bread.

Hopper describes itself as a company that produces as much as possible in-house. This applies to bread from a deck oven and coffee roasted on a Giesen roaster. The company refers to itself as self-sufficient and independent. This setup aligns with a model where production and sales are closely integrated. For visitors, this means that coffee, bread, and lunch products converge within a single business concept.

Hopper publicly uses the description Coffee Roasters & Artisan Bakery. The coffee page mentions that freshly roasted Hopper coffee is available for both home and commercial use. Generally, coffee for filter and espresso is kept in stock. The webshop features espresso and filter products with names such as Espresso Ethiopië Organic, Ethiopia filter coffee, and Finca Nazareth filter beans.

Several methods are documented for the preparation of coffee. Koffietje.nl mentions Aeropress, cafetière, and Chemex for Hopper Coffee Centrum. Other sources also mention Clever and Hario. Additionally, espresso, flat white, Chemex, slow drip, and Aeropress are listed as preparations or methods. The espresso machine is described as a Kees van der Westen Mirage Triplette.

The available information shows that Hopper doesn’t just focus on espresso. Filter coffee and manual brew methods are also part of their profile. Previous reports mentioned that Karel Rietveld offered ten bean options and five brewing methods. In doing so, coffee was presented not just as a beverage, but as a product where origin, branding, and preparation were visible components.

Alongside coffee, bread plays a permanent role in the business. The bakery page mentions sourdough bread without added yeast. The base consists of flour, water, salt, and sourdough from their own starter. This description provides insight primarily into the production method. The bread is available not only at Hopper itself, but also at other hospitality businesses. The names of those clients are not mentioned in the available information.

Regarding sustainability and sourcing, the available information focuses on the desire for more transparency regarding origin. Hopper states that producing their own products helps them know exactly what goes into them. Regarding coffee, it was previously reported that Rietveld wanted to know exactly where the coffee came from, including the country, farm, and farmer. It was also noted that he did not want to work with intermediaries who, according to those reports, charged high prices while paying small farmers very little.

Concrete names of green coffee suppliers are not documented in the available material. However, origins and product names are visible in the webshop, including Ethiopia Organic, Ethiopia filter coffee, and Finca Nazareth filter beans. Thus, some information about origin is publicly visible, but the material does not provide a complete picture of the supply chain.

For the city center location, no current workshops, tastings, exhibitions, or recurring public events are documented. The official experiences page reports that no experiences are currently being offered. Consequently, the available information focuses primarily on daily operations, coffee preparation, and the bakery.

In 2013, it was reported that Hopper planned a second location at Zwaanshals in Rotterdam Noord, connected to the coffee roastery. Later, Hopper Noord was described as a subsequent location for Karel Rietveld, featuring a roastery with a Giesen roaster in the back. This information points to expansion within Rotterdam, but the core of this profile remains the location at Schiedamse Vest.

Hopper has been described by various media and platforms. Culy published an article about Hopper Coffee in August 2013, reporting that the establishment was honored by Esquire and Venuez Magazine in 2012. Rotterdam.info also mentions an award for coffee in 2012 in connection with Hopper Noord. Additionally, mentions appeared in De Buik van Rotterdam, Koffietje.nl, On the Grid, and The Coffeevine.

In summary, Hopper Coffee & Bakery emerges as a Rotterdam coffee bar and bakery with its own production of coffee and bread. The available sources provide information primarily on its founding, equipment, brewing methods, bread production, and previous press attention. There is less documentation regarding current events and specific suppliers. For an objective view, the factual business data and the described working methods are of primary importance.