The Dutch Coffee team

Jits Krol

Partner

The first member of the Dutch Coffee team was born close to Utrecht but grew up in Leiden. He discovered his passion for coffee at a young age. During his studies at the University of Leiden many cups of extremely bad coffee were consumed by Jits at the university library, to keep up with the long hours of studying. Whether it can be attributed to the caffeine or the intriguing taste of the black brew is still unclear, but in October 2012 the final courses for his masters were completed. After his masters Jits applied for a MBA at the Sung Kyun Kwan University in Seoul, South Korea.

In this for Western foreigners quite incomprehensible city Jits first saw the light regarding the ultimate coffee sensation. “더치커피” (deochi keoppi or Dutch Coffee) for many Seoulities is the answer to large American coffee firms that are trying to grab a hold of the coffee culture. A coffee named Dutch Coffee had to be tasted by someone coming from the Netherlands. Immediately after tasting the coffee, Jits started dreaming about bringing this coffee sensation to the Netherlands.

Dreams turned into ambition on a relaxed but slightly boring Sunday afternoon in Baroda, India, where he was working as a Project manager at an IT firm. Memories of the black gold he drank in Korea would not leave his mind. Its and his co-worker Robert Nijhof realized that if they wanted great coffee, they had to make it happen themselves. Then and there they decided: Dutch Coffee had to be re-introduced in the Netherlands and Europe. So Jits and Robert made plans and now, 300 years after Dutch traders introduced Dutch Coffee in Asia, Dutch Coffee makers are finally dripping on Dutch soil again!

Robert Nijhof

Partner

The second member of the Dutch Coffee team was born and raised in Leiden. Robert shamefully has to admit that his first coffee experience was drinking a cup of instant “Wiener Mélange”. Fortunately the conclusion that drinking black coffee was a lot tastier was drawn rather fast.

After a high school education that was filled with forced horrible coffees from the vending machine, studying at the University provided an opportunity for great improvement with regards to the coffee Robert drank. A timer in between the coffee machine and the power outlet enabled Robert to get out of bed and finish his studies in 2012.

During his Masters, Robert’s love for coffee enabled local store owners to vacation twice on the profits they made from all the special coffees Robert bought. The coffee machine was making serious over hours and his passion for coffee grew along.

In India Robert discovered what good coffee really meant to him since it was close to impossible to find. The friendship with business partner Jits grew further and during a long talk in the absence of a proper cup of coffee the decision was finalized: after returning to the Netherlands Dutch Coffee would be re-introduced. Since then Batavia Dutch Coffee has grown into what it is today: passion and coffee in its purest form.