About Us
Black & Bloom is the very first artisan espresso bar in Groningen. We serve Insanely good coffee from all over the world. Some keywords: Single Origins, Espresso from the Synesso, Microroaster, Filter at the Brewbar, Hario, Kalita, Aeropress, Cosy Atmosphere, home-made cakes and bakes, Retro F1, Students, StarWars Lego and more coffee tomfoolery… Beware; coffee geeks are free to move at the shop!
In 2008, owner Gerben Engelkes became involved in a coffee franchise where he learned the ways of beeing an entrepeneur. He had a very good time with the franchise where he was the owner of two shops, one in the main shopping street of Groningen and one near the Groningen Museum. In the years with the franchise he learned more about coffee and coffee preparations.
In august 2011 he decided that the franchise was not totally what he wanted, instead he needed a little more freedom in his choice of coffee. During this time, he followed two SCAE courses that showed him Specialty Coffee and came up with the idea of starting up an own place where he could perform a new level of coffee nerdiness. This is how Black & Bloom was born. On the second of August 2012 the doors were opened for public the first time.
The mission of Black & Bloom is to provide our guests and staff with the most complete coffee and tea experience, in a surrounding where knowledge, atmosphere, craftsmanship, skill, training and service are part of the total experience.
Black & Bloom stands for a fun and social working environment for all staff and creates a specific relaxing atmosphere and environment for the guests with the aid of high quality products like the coffee, machines, bakes and cakes but also the retail section. These factors are key for setting and achieving our goals.
The standard for quality of the product and experience are maintained by the following;
• to train our staff and wholesale customers to obtain and present the most perfect knowledge and skills of the craftsmanship of coffee making by the aid of special training
• to create and preserve a nice and social working environment for the staff, where they feel at home and show this to the guests and management
• to offer optimal service to our guests and wholesale customers regarding service and giving advice of all coffee and tea beverages, kinds of beans, kinds of tea and retail equipment
• to treat our suppliers and wholesale customers with the upmost respect and dignity, in order that they will supply us with their products of high quality standards and our customers will treat our coffee with the upmost respect
• to participate as a worthy business in the Dutch and Groningen coffee culture
• to never allow the loss of product quality, but also in service and atmosphere for our guests and staff
These standards aid us in pursuing our endless goal;
To be a leading provider of specialty coffee within the coffee culture of Groningen with different coffees, bought in-season and roasted to perfection.
We want to stay surprising for our guests, introduce new insights of making and enjoying coffee and experiment with different new methods all the time, this together with the high standard of product quality and the promotion through the new social media channels.