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Coffeelovers, a Dutch coffeehouse pioneer

Nowadays, it’s almost impossible to imagine a city without coffeehouses. But not so long ago the coffee culture in the lowlands was completely different. 18 years ago, Tunify customer Coffeelovers was a coffeehouse pioneer, bringing the culture of specialty coffee to the Netherlands.

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Coffeelovers arose from the coffee roaster and tea packer company Maison Blanche Dael, active in the city center of Maastricht since 1878. What began as a store in colonial goods, has developed rapidly into a tea and coffee specialty shop. It is now a fourth-generation family business, and the shop is still in the same place. Lots of people in Maastricht know the place and have been visiting it since they were little. You could definitely say that this purveyor to the royal household is world famous in Limburg.

Tunify spoke with Christophe de Warrimont, concept developer at Coffeelovers and constantly looking for ways to improve the formula.“With Maison Blanche Dael we focus on the top of the coffee market. We roast specialty coffee for people who are willing to pay a bit more for better quality. That can be both consumers - the home baristas - and the hospitality professionals,” explains Christophe. “19 years ago we started our first Coffeelovers business, as a proof point for the quality of our own brand Blanche Dael. Quite a challenge, if you know that the coffee culture in the Netherlands was completely different back then. There used to be a typical ‘home drinking culture’ and people almost exclusively drank filter coffee. In other countries, it was already much more common to drink a coffee or espresso at a coffee bar or to take away your coffee on to the street. Slowly, the specialty coffee and takeaway culture also got off the ground here in the Netherlands and now it has become impossible to imagine a city without coffee houses."

Music is a very important element when creating a mood. Good music makes people enjoy the moment. Wrong music achieves exactly the opposite: it takes you out of your little moment.

Christophe de Warrimont, Maison Blanche Dael & Coffeelovers
A (musical) moment of rest or enjoyment

Today, there are 9 Coffeelovers subsidiaries, each unique in its own way. The most famous probably is the coffee bar in the most beautiful bookshop in the world, situated in the 11th century Dominican church in Maastricht. Besides the right location, the right music is also crucial for Coffeelovers. “People go to a coffeehouse to have a quiet moment or a moment to enjoy with others. It is extremely important to offer a certain atmosphere that is associated with this unique moment. Music is a very important element when creating a mood. Good music makes people enjoy the moment. Wrong music achieves exactly the opposite: it takes you out of your little moment,” says Christophe. Fortunately, with Tunify you can personalize the music. “Sometimes a song grabs the attention in a good way, sometimes in a bad way. This is were Tunify excels: if a song doesn’t suit your concept, you can tell Tunify with just one single click and it won’t be played again. That’s very nice."

 

Tailor-made music without large investments

The music played at Coffeelovers is diverse, but it has always the same cosy atmosphere. “We combine a number of music channels in Tunify Blue. We play a lot of indie and singer-songwriter kind of music, but also music from the countries of origin of our coffee, like Brazilian guitar music. Not too slow, but not the obvious top 40 songs. There’s also some loungy music in between."

Coffeelovers also proves that you don’t have to do any big investments to start with Tunify: “We use Tunify on iPhones, iPods, Android phones… these are our old devices that we use,” says Christophe.

 

Are you curious about the coffee of Maison Blanche Dael? Then do check the website of Coffeelovers to see where you an go and taste their coffee in optimal conditions. Do you prefer to have it the old-fashioned way at home? That’s also possible: you can order the coffee from Maison Blanche Dael at their webshop.

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