You'll be hard pushed to find a more outstanding coffee and chocolate shop in the Netherlands with Hop & Stork in The Hague. Here it's all about the senses: smelling, seeing and tasting. You will be treated to, and delighted by, the tantalising tastes and aromas of chocolate, coffee, patisserie and tea. See for yourself how a truffle is sprayed in the open-plan chocolate studio, and devour the sweet and heady aroma of chocolate gushing out of the taps. This coffee bar in The Hague's historic Passage (Arcade) is the ultimate place to unwind and savour the range of sweet and savoury tasting sessions, with a cup of coffee or tea. It's with very good reason that the Hop & Stork was hailed among the top three coffee shops in the Netherlands by the Algemeen Dagblad in 2015.
The tastiest coffee in The Hague
In 2015 the Hop & Stork earned third place in the annual coffee test undertaken by the Algemeen Dagblad, having visited more than a hundred Dutch coffee bars. This coffee and chocolate shop in The Hague's Arcade was awarded a 10 for their espresso, a 10 for their cappuccino and a 9.5 for their filter coffee. "Latte art, exuding regal attributes", is how the cappuccino rating has been described. And as regards the espresso: "unparalleled within its category". The jury deemed the Hop & Stork “an exceptional shop run by passionate entrepreneurs who strive exclusively for premium quality. Their USP is an eye for detail. It's most certainly worth a visit!"
Tasting room and terrace
A range of coffees and teas are served in the tasting room and on the terrace. At Hop & Stork fresh-only coffee beans and tea leaves are guaranteed, as this impacts the quality enormously. To create an optimum taste sensation Hop & Stork combines its drinks with chocolate products and seasonal patisserie. The same applies to the lunch menu too.
Chocolate shop
Did you know that the Swiss, French and Belgians savour a little treat no less than three times as often as the Dutch? On average, they treat themselves to around 12 kg of chocolate a year, whereas the Dutch permit themselves just 4 kg. The concept behind Hop & Stork was to enable the Dutch to enjoy such treats more often. Not only by tasting chocolate, but by also seeing firsthand how the chocolate is made by hand, and to experience what chocolate’s heady aroma does to you. Why not come soon, and see for yourself?!
Workshops
Fancy trying your hand at making chocolate? The chocolatier at Hop & Stork will lead you into the world of chocolate, where you'll learn all the practical basics. The two-hour workshop kicks off with a welcome coffee or tea, followed by a chocolate tasting session, along with a narrative about chocolate and then you step in and temper the chocolate, all the way to creating your own mendiants or Ferrero Rochers!
The Hop & Stork name
The name 'Hop & Stork' reflects The Hague perfectly. 'Hop' refers to Baron Hop, the man behind the Haagse Hopje sweet. And the stork is on The Hague's coat of arms, which embodies happiness and fertility.
Location
Hop & Stork is situated in the oldest shopping centre in the Netherlands, in The Hague's Passage. This historic shopping arcade in the centre of The Hague was built in 1885 and counts among the top 100 Dutch UNESCO monuments. The Hop & Stork building is a national monument, the interior of which was comprehensively renovated in 2013 and 2014.