October 9, 2017 · Lodewijk Portielje
Last Monday, the Horecabeurs Noord Nederland took place. For hospitality entrepreneurs, it is essentially a sort of New Year's drinks party. And that calls for New Year's resolutions. My resolutions: to learn a few things and to laugh (even) more. But since resolutions always tend to fade a bit quickly, I decided to get to work on them right away this year. There is always something going on in Groningen, so my wishes were granted. This week: Coffee Cupping and Pub Cabaret!
In case you don't know them yet, then is MASMAS Definitely worth a visit. It was already two years ago that founders Brian and Lourens brought the Spanish concept to the far north. And with success; just like the DJ careers of both gentlemen, MASMAS is doing very well. Coffee, soft drinks, sandwiches, setting, and activities—MASMAS always turns out great.
I know absolutely nothing about coffee myself, and apparently more people from Groningen suffered from the same. So, that was reason enough to have Kenyan Stean, owner of Stean’s Beans, host an evening of coffee cupping. For €5, we got coffee, honey, chocolate, and good company. Stean had brought five types of beans that he imports himself and supplies to coffee shops. Beans from Colombia, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Rwanda were ready in small bowls. Stean gave us an explanation of what we were going to do. Coffee cupping is meant to taste and analyze coffee. This way, the experienced cupper can immediately smell if diseases are prevalent on the coffee plantation and, for example, what kind of soil the beans grew in. You are better off looking up exactly how it works on YouTube.
Since most of the 25 attendees were likely amateur coffee drinkers, Stean didn't go into too much (technical) detail. He gave a brief explanation for each step of the tasting process and asked us what flavors we tasted in the coffees he had brought along. Cranberry, tomato soup, Earl Grey tea, and rubber (!) were all mentioned. In addition to coffee, Stean had also brought special German coffee honey. I must honestly admit that I didn't really taste that coffee in my cup of warm sugar water, but the idea was nice. Furthermore, Stean had brought special chocolate. The beans for this chocolate are with sailing ship Tres Hombres transported from the Dominican Republic to Amsterdam, to subsequently CO here2 to make neutral chocolate bars from.
I could keep typing for a while about everything Stean told us and which coffee beans were the tastiest, but it's much more fun to experience it yourself. The guys from MASMAS told me that more events like this are coming up soon. In addition, barista courses and many other things are on the schedule. Keep an eye on their Facebook, or just drop by!
After waking up again with more coffee than I normally drink in a week, it was time for the 2e tonight's stage: the Pub CabaretOn November 8, 9, and 10, it is Groningen Student Cabaret Festival (GSCF) is back at the Stadsschouwburg. Every year the GSCF gets bigger, and since last year a Pub Cabaret has also taken place: a few pubs in the city center are transformed into theaters for an evening. This year we were able to go to Diner-café Soestdijk, Café Mulder, Café de Keyzer, Café de Wolthoorn & Co and The Little clockmaker.
The GSCF had invited five comedians: Henk van Huisstede, Kachun Cheung, Nadja Schijveschuurder, Nik Goedemans, and Patrick van den Kieboom. Four Dutch and one Belgian, four men and one woman. Each of them had a 15-minute show. Afterwards, there was a break of about 15 minutes, and the comedians switched pubs. That way, we could just hang out on our bar stools and drink beer.
Now, I don't go to cabaret very often, and when I do, I usually see well-known comedians. That was different tonight. The GSCF gives up-and-coming and new comedians the chance to prove themselves and promote themselves. In this way, they have discovered a lot of emerging talent over the years: Jochem Myjer, Theo Maassen, Mike and Thomas, Johan Goossens, Martijn Koning, and Kirsten van Teijn—they all performed in Groningen at some point. Giving new people the chance to prove themselves is great fun, but for them, it is sometimes also incredibly nerve-wracking. And you can tell. While the big names don't let themselves be thrown off guard and wrap the audience around their finger, things were sometimes a bit awkward at the Pub Cabaret. Sex (and infidelity), racism, insecurity, Tinder, and “uh” turned out to be the topics almost every comedian used to piece their act together.
But let's be honest, stage fright prevents most of us from even stepping onto the stage. In fact, I'm penning this piece in my attic room from behind my computer screen—nice and safe. So, nothing but praise for the comedians! I understood that Henk has only been performing for a year, that Patrick had to come all the way from Antwerp by train, and that Kachun is here on a fake visa. It is incredibly cool that all the participants came to Groningen and entertained us for an evening. Hopefully, we will hear a lot more from them. Some were a bit funnier than others, but there was certainly potential in every performance. I was in Het Uurwerkertje, and even the presenter, who had promised on his hangover day to make the best of it, was doing a great job.
There are still some in the coming weeks try-outs in Antwerp, Gorinchem and AmsterdamAdditionally, in just a month, it will be time for the *real* Groningen Student Cabaret Festival in our own city. I will definitely be there, and if you have read all the way to here, I highly recommend you do the same. Tickets are available via the website of the GSCF and those are selling fast.
